Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-23
TUBERCULIN TEST NEEDED
Suggestion of Necessity for Remedial
Legislation.
is REGARDED AS IMPERATIVE
Views Of Commissioners, the Health
Officer and Experts of Bureau
of Animal Industry.

The Commissioners are convinced, it is
said, that the bill they recently had in
troduced in the House to regulate the
dairy and milk supply in the District will
not be complete or particularly effective
unless some provision is made in it for
the compulsory tuberculin test of mich
cows with a view of preventing milk
from cows affected with tuberculosis being
shipped into the District. The Commits
sioners appreciate the Importance of this
test, and DR.. William c. Woodward who
prepared the pending milk bill, is an
advocate of the test, but did not include
it in his bill because he deemed it's chances
of enactment very slim. However, it has
been authoritatively stated that supple
mental bill providing this test will be
transmitted to Congress by the Commits
sioners during the present session.
That this test is imperative is particu-
larry evident from the estimate that more
than one-sixteenth of the cows from which
the milk supply of Washington is taken
are victims of the plague, and accord
Ing to an experienced cattle veterinar ian
connected with the health department much
OF the high prevalence of consumption in
the District can be attributed to this
source, especially among children and in
fants, whose sole sustenance is from cows
dition alarming. and when interviewed by
Star reporter today expressed surprise
that there is not more tuberculosis in the
District. He said the only remedy for this
condition is the application OF the tubercu-
I'm test to every COW from which milk is
taken for local consumption and when the
animals found to be diseased they
should be labeled unhealthy and sepa-
rated from the healthy members of the
herd
This is the only radical practical method
by which pure milk will be obtained" he
SAID, and the spread of this disease not
only among cattle but among human beings
will be checked
Endorsed by Bureau Chief.
DR.. E. d. Melvin, chief of the bureau of
animal industry of the Department of Agri-
culture. from many years of experience
In dealing with the diseases of cattle,
Strongly believes in the possibilities of the
tubercuiin test, and said to a Star re-
porter today that the extent of this dis
ease among dairy cows will never be def
nitely determined without it. He said the
test is exceptionally simple, and could
De so arranged as not to incur expense
on the local health authorities by its an
plea ion.
To give some definite idea to what ex-
tent tuperculos1s Is ravaging among the
cattle of the dairy farms in the bordering
states which supply their milk to this city
the veterinarian before mentioned said
that there are about 5000 cows from
which the local milk supply is taken, and
declared that If the tuberculin test were
applied to each cow it would develop that
more than 1000 of them have tuberculosis
BY simply applying the ordinary physical
test, which consists chiefly of "eyeing'
the cow and listening to the breathing
more than 200 of these cows were found
to be suffering from the disease during the
last year.
A Sample Given.
Several months ago., this veterinarian
said, five other veterinarians and myself
some from the bureau of animal industry
examined herd of 125 cows ON a farm in
Maryland only a short distance from the
city limits, and by the ordinary physical
test, We agreed that six of the cows
showed physical symptoms of the disease
With the aid of the tuberculin test, sew
enty-nine cows were found badly diseased.
In another herd we found by the applica-
ton of the tuberculin test that twenty
eight out of thirty fine looking cows sup
plying milk to Washington were diseased
and at the owners suggestion, were all
slaughtered On another dairy farm in
Virginia the test showed that sixteen out
Of twenty-one dairy cows had the disease
in its worst FORM
These cases" he continued, illustrate
the extremes of inspected herds, that while
veterinarians believe that there are many
healthy herds supplying their people with
slant inspection leads them to believe that
more herds are infected with tuberculosis
than are not infected. The reason for this
is hard to accurately determine 1t Is not
disputed that cows are more susceptible to
the disease than other animals, but / be-
lieve the greater portion of the infection is
because of their handling. In my inspec-
tion find that number of dairymen pay
little attention to the cleaning of the hides
of the cattle and do no more toward max
ing their stables sanitary and agreeable
than the law requires. Many provisions of
the health regulations are violated because
of the inadequate force of inspectors and
subsequent irregular inspections. There
are five dairy farm inspectors, and they
are fortunate If they visit every farm as
signed to them more than twice during a
year. These five inspectors take in a terri
tory that reaches as far south as Freder-
icksburg and Charlottesville, Virginia, and
far northward as Hagerstown and Bal
timore Maryland.
Difficult to Determine
Another popularity of this disease among
cows" this expert said, lis that unless the
animal is in the last stages of the disease
no one but an expert would realize that she
has tuberculosis. The fact that cows are
in good condition or are healthy looking
does not indicate that they are in reality
healthy, as badly infected cows are fire.
quently in apparently prime condition and
milking their normal amount of milk each
day. l inspected a small herd in Maryland
about year ago and decided that rs per
cent of the herd was infected. Considerable
OF the milk taken from the cows was con-
sumed upon the farm and upon investiga-
ton 1 found that the dairymans wife, two
children and servant were suffering from
the disease. 1t is needless to say that they
became infected by the milk from the cows
on the place, but they were not aware of
it. 1t is strange how few people do realize
this possibility.
Recent feeding experiments by the bu-
reau of animal industry of the Department
of Agriculture have shown that hogs fed
with milk from cows showing no physical
signs Of tuberculosis, but which have posi-
lively reacted TO tuberculin, have contract
ed the disease to a large extent. The fact
that hog and man are both omniverous ami
mails puts the feeding of tuberculosis milk