CONTAGIOUSNESS OF TUBERCULOSIS. 
827 
In considering preventive measures, we must remember that the 
disease may pass from man to animals or from animals to man, and 
then chiefly by the ingestion of tubercular diseased meat or milk. 
The disease may also pass from one to another in case of both man and 
animals. In the case of animals preventive measures must be in the 
direction of improved hygiene of dairies and cattle-sheds, especially in 
attention to ventilation, good feeding, pure water, and, last but not 
least, cleanliness. There should be isolation of all suspected animals, 
and thorough disinfection of stalls, buildings, -or railway trucks in 
which tubercular cattle have been. In the case of valuable animals, as 
stud cattle, which are suspected of being tuberculous, the injection of 
tuberculin might easily settle an uncertain diagnosis. I do not think 
this method is generally applicable, but it is available. It should be 
remembered— (1) That cases in which tubercle bacilli have actually 
been discovered have, after the injection of even a larger dose than 
recommended by Koch, shown no general or local reaction ; (2) cases 
of quite healthy persons have shown general reaction after injection of 
a very small dose (less than 0*01 gramme). Precautions should be 
taken that the flesh or milk of diseased animals should not be used as 
food for man or animals. All such meat or milk should be condemned 
aud destroyed. All diseased animals should be slaughtered and the 
carcasses destroyed, compensation being given to the owner. Breeding 
from tubercular diseased animals should certainly be prevented by 
law. 
To carry out these measures it would be necessary to have 
increased legislation, and to appoint medical officers of health and 
sanitary inspectors. At present in Queensland almost the whole 
inspection of slaughter-yards is in the hands of police constables, and 
their duties chiefly or entirely consist in the registration of the list of 
brands of slaughtered animals which is supplied to them by the 
butchers. 
It has long been a matter of suspicion in ray mind as to whether 
the inoculation of cattle for pleuro- pneumonia was not a fruitful 
source of the spread of tuberculosis. The more I inquire the more 
confirmation my suspicion receives of its correctness. 1 will give two 
examples. An intelligent and fairly educated man has pointed out 
to me a tuberculous beast as a fine case to obtain virus from for 
inoculation of pleuro-pneuinonia. ibis man, of course, did not know 
the beast was tubercular; but when I told him he did not appear to 
understand the difference. He had first-class recommendations as to 
competency amongst cattle, and was spoken of as being “ well-up in 
the inoculation of cattle for pleuro.'* 
A certain prominent scientific gentleman may, perhaps, himself 
relate here how he made a mistake by collecting serum as virus for 
the inoculation of pleuro- pneumonia, and how subsequent results and 
fuller examination showed the disease from which the animal had 
suffered was tuberculosis and not pleuro- pneumonia. 
At a very large cattle market and slaughter-yard the following is 
gravely given me as an inlallible test between a tuberculous and 
pleuro-pneumonic beast: — “Tie up the beast and suddenly strike it a full 
blow with the fist on the side over the middle of the seventh rib; then 
listen with a stethoscope— if you have not one, a tin tube will do. If a 
rough crepitating sound is heard, the case is one of tuberculosis ; if 
