The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-03-09

so strong a report why did he not write
up and make inquiry as to what the
Board Of Health proposed to do in the
matter. He certainly was to blame for
not pushing forward his report when
he found no attention had been paid
to it.
But after all it is no use crying over
split milk-the thing to do is to face the
situation, The war against tuberculous
cattle has been carried on more thor
oughly in Europe than In the United
States. The only states where adequate
laws for a campaign against bovine
tuberculosis have been enacted are New
York and Massachusetts,, and in both
these states there has been a marked
decrease of tuberculosis among human
beings.
The article quoted in these columns
yesterday devotes considerable space
to the subject of bovine tuberculosis.
DR.. Girdner points out that before the
discovery of tuberculin 1t was difficult
to detect with certainty the presence of
tuberculosis in animals where the
symptoms of the disease were not well
marked. The tuberculin test in the
hands of an experienced observer set
ties whether an animal is tuberculous
or not 1t will discover the disease,
even where 1t is in the incipient stage"
"Tuberculin," says DR.. Girdner, rs a
brownish fluid prepared from the germs
which cause tuberculosis. When inject
ed under the skin of an animal which
is free from tuberculosis, it produces no
symptoms, but if the animal is suffering
from the disease, even in a slight de-
gree, the injection causes fever and
other symptoms, which to the trained
observer are characteristic"
The commission in England which re-
ported upon bovine tuberculosis, rec
commended that the herds should be fire.
quently examined by the tuberculin
test, and that the tuberculin should be
supplied to the owners free. All ami
mails found to be infected should be iso-
lated or destroyed. 1t may not be pos
sible to reach all the cattle of a herd
in Kauai, but it would certainly be
possible to submit all cattle which are
used for milking purposes to the test.
and competent veterinary surgeon
should be sent to the island to apply
! the test. 1t is easy enough to decide
whether a slaughtered animal has tu-
berculosis, for the tubercles are plain
to the sight, and the carcass can at
once be rejected, if there is proper in
spection of all carcasses, but it is not
easy to detect the disease among mich
cattle, even by the experienced eye.
The tuberculin test is, however, infalli-
BILE. The greatest danger lies in milk
from tuberculous cattle. Milk makes
the diet Of the young, and the young are
particularly susceptible to the germs of
tuberculosis. The condition of affairs
in Kauai is really serious, and demands
instant attention.
The Star has shown that tuberculosis
among people is ever increasing among
people in Honolulu, the number of
deaths from consumption having more
than doubled within two years. 1t has
surmised that tuberculosis must be or
the increase on the other islands-this
report of DR.. Waughop's proves it to be
very prevalent among cattle on Kauai
it must therefore be spreading among
the people. If this is true of Kauai, il
is likely to be true of Molokai, Maui and
Hawaii. Certainly investigation should
be made, and it would be as we'll not
to pigeon-hole the reports.