The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-03-18

hogs from cholera has been taken adj
vantage OF by several state agricuI-
tural departments, and y appropria-
lions have been asked for from their
legislatures for the purpose of pro-
viding farmers with the preventive.
With but few exceptions no well-defin-
ed or organized plan Of operation has
been adopted by any of them 10 Sc
cure to the farmers within their Dor
ders the benefit of the governments
discovery. If the greatest good is to
be accomplished the farmer should
not be content simply to reduce the
losses from hog cholera, but should
undertake systematic effor-s to eradi-
cate the risease. H,
Most farmers and stockmen are IA
miliar with the course which hog
cholera usually takes when it appears
in a neigbborhood. A, herd develops
the disease, which may not be recog-
nized as hog cholera for several
weeks after it has made its appear
ance. Following this the neighbors
hogs will become infected, and then
| rapid progress is made, the number
| of new foci increasing more rapidly
as the infected area widens. until
| finally the losses in single county
| may be enormous. It'll "'
| 1t is evident that in order to con-
troll the disease there must be some
means of combining 1t to the original
infection. This has been attempted
by the British government through
| the quarantine of farms where hog
! cholera existed and the slaughter OF
all infected animals, out those meas
ures have not always been entirely
effective. In this country such meth
DDS would not be suitable, for, aside
from the enormous expense involved,
it would be practical to dislnfect ex,
| tensive farms and carry out quaran-
| tine which would not be effective
| against such carriers of disease as
dogs, crows, buzzards and other ami
mails. q '."..
In order that the possibilities of
wclLdirected work may be brought to
the attention of those who may in the
future have this work to perform, DR..
A. d! Melvin, chief of the Bureau OF
| Animal Industry, has outlined few
suggestions for combating cholera
ihregghs serum inimgg l1 -
! /. The serum should be prepared
d by the state experiment stations OF
by live stock sanitary boards which
are properly equipped with labora
tory facilities, the efficacy of all Sc
rum to be determined by the labora
tories before distribution. -.
/ 2. The field application of the Sc
rum should be in the hands of the
state live stock sanitary board OIL
state veterinarian.
3. The state should be organized
into districts, each in charge of &
deputy state veterinarian or a deputy
j appointed by the live stock sanitary
4 board. These districts should BIZ
small enough to permit the deputy tt
exercise close watch over them.
4. The deputy state veterinarian
should keep a supply of serum on hand
to see that prompt action is taken
when infection appears.
i 5. Hog raisers generally through
out the state should be informed wheI
this serum is available for distribu
ton, and if necessary compuisor!
notification Of the presence OF dis
ease in a herd should be imposed.
Il 6. Upon notification to the deputy
in charge of the district or the state
live stock sanitary board or STATE
veterinarian that hog cholera has ap
peared in a certain neighborhood thu
diseased herd or herds should be i'm
mediately quarantlned, the premise;
disinfected as thoroughly as possible
and all hogs on the farm which have
been exposed or which are not yisibl1
i'll should be treated with serum alone
All hogs on the farm which have mo-
been exposed should be treated by
what is termed the serum-simultane
Gus method, and of course the prompt
:. burning or burial of dead animals
should be enforced. At the sam time
all hogs on surrounding farms should
be treated by the serum-simultaneous
/ method.
Prompt action OF this kind should
result in combining the disease to the
i first herd where it appears, though
there is some possibility of infection
being carried beyond the vaceinated
belt by birds. If this should occur
the procedure should be the same as
in the first case of disease, though
the probabilities of dissemination by
birds will not be great, owing to the
apparently small size Of the infected
4 area.
With well organized live stock
sanitary board and an efnclent corps
OF deputies throughout the state
there seems to be no reason why hog
cholera should not be kept we'll un
der control and possibly in time Grad
icated by proceeding along the lines
indicated. BY starting the work In
early spring or summer the task
would probably be much simplified
4 and the enst reduced to a minimum