The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-21
DUNCAN LECTURES ON
TUBERCU[|A TESTS
Tells What Has Been Done in
Birmingham.
TALKS IN MONTGOMERY.
BncteriOl0gist Says Private Cows Are
Source of as Much Danger as
Many of the Poorly Kept
DIARIES.
TALKS IN MONTGOMERY

| 4ais ti1thSoib Diiiiiiu6 idHl DdC-
teriologist, meat and milk inspector,
read paper last night before the
Alabama Veterinary Medical associa-
ton at Montgomery in which he ex-
planned the use of the tuberculin test
in city milk inspection and its result
ing benefits to the public health.
Mr.. Duncan recited some remarkable
incidents where he had found whole
dairy herds in Birmingham during the
and where 10 per cent of the cows
had to be slaughtered.
He calls attention to the great DAN
ger of keeping a private cow which
has not been tested regularly for the
presence of tuberculosis and points out
| the scientific research on the subject
showing how susceptible humans are
! to contracting the diseases from in
fected milk.
| The paper begins with discussion
of the test, it's discovery and technical
examples of it's application ito COW.
If the COW reacts under the test, show
ing high temperature and other
symptoms it is Immediately slaught-
cred. In the course of his remarks Mr..
Duncan said:
Not long since as we were slaughter
ing a number of reacting animals. an
observing dairyman said, when he saw
the extensive tubercular LESSONS point
ed out to him, with a large amount of
yellow pus present, after an incision
was made into some of the different
sites of infection: I will not drink an
other drop of milk from my herd and
my family shall not do so until the
herd has been tested
Another dairyman present, who was
connected with one of the diaries, in
which we had found IL reacting ami
mails out of a herd of IS, and which
animals were being slaughtered said:
I never will drink another drop of
milk as long as 1 live, since 1 have
seen this sight
"These are examples of seeing and
being convinced.
AT the end of April 80 we had test
ed total of 592 COWS, of which num-
Der 32 reacted, 6.01 per cent. These
32 reacting animals were all slaught-
ereQ, all OIL WHICH, VI lVV PEI SOhe'
showed LESSONS of tuberculosis on post
mortem examination.
1.-THE highest number of reacting an
imals in any one of our local diaries
was 70 per cent, while the next high
est number was 81 per cent. These
two herds were originally one and the
| same herd. The herd that showed the
| 81 per cent of tuberculosis animals
had been purchased Just few months
previous to the test from the herd that
showed the 70 per cent of infection
This very clearly illustrates how rapid
ly tuberculosis will spread in dairy
herd when once infected, If not de-
| tected, and some steps taken at once
to prevent its spreading from one ami
NAL to another. One cow in the herd
| that showed the 81 per cent of infection
was found on the first day of the test
| to have a temperature of over log de-
grees Fahrenheit and from every ap-
pearance, physically, she was tubercu-
| lous. AS the temperature was so alb
normally high on the first day We could
not apply the test. So this COW was
condemned on the physical signs of
the disease and when she was slaught-
cred she was SO badly infected you
might term her regular incubus. More
| than likely this old COW was the orig
inal focus from which the other cows
| in these two herds became infected.
LAS my remarks up to the present time
have been confined entirely to the dairy
COW situation of this question, 1 now de-
sire to offer a few remarks concerning
the problem as applied to the private
COW.
I'm practically all cities there are a
greater or less number of cows owned
L by private individuals and used for the
production of milk for their immediate
families, and very frequently sales of the
products of such cows are supposed to
be made to the 'next-door neighbor as a
special favor Usually the sanitary sur
roundings and the health of such cows
have practically no attention 1t is very
possible for these COWS to be affected
with tuberculosis, and In the event of a
COW of this kind should be infected, there
would be great danger from becoming In
fected from the use of her products
Since there would be a tendency for tho
organisms to be very numerous, In case
of an udder infection, or If she in any
manner expelled tubercular organisms
with her milk. While in the case of pos
sibly only one infected COW in a large
herd expelling tubercle baclli in her milk,
the milk would necessarily be mixed with
the total volume produced by the herd,
and in this manner be highly diluted. In
such instances the consumer would not
run as great risk of getting SO many
of the organisms at any given time. In
my opinion, the owners of the private
cows should, as means of their own
protection interest themselves enough to
have their cows tuberculin tested, to see
whether or not they are free from this
disease.
II have had occasion to notice In some
of our stock yards number of so-called
fine thoroughbred Jersey cows with
young calves ready to be sold to some
private citizen as a perfectly healthy
animal to be used to furnish milk to
innocent children, which, from all indi-
cations physically and otherwise, were
AFFECTED with advanced tuberculosis, but
under the present laws we have no power
to act.
when the fact Is mentioned of having
to slaughter such and such a number of
ltuberculous dairy cows, the first ques-
ltion that naturally arises with the aver
age individual, Who had to stand the
lloss?' Since the eradication of tuberculosis
from dairy herds supplying milk to the
,,bito 20 a public health regulation oar