Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-01-11
z = 7 y. q. = = 8. 3. 4.
Prevention
Of Chambers.
BY Dr.. L. Van Es, veterina-
rian, North Dakota AsricuI.
tural College.

With a disease as fatal as CHAMBERS
and so liable to become transmitted
TO other horses or even to man, the
question of treatment and prevention
is n of utmost Importance. ATTEMPTS
at relief by means of medical treat.
ment have so constantly failed, that
without better understanding of the
nature of the disease they are not
further INDUCED in by intelligent vet.
erlnarians; and, if the disease is to
be eradicated and it's progress stopped
we will have to look to prevention
alone as the means to accomplish orr
purpose.
This prevention practically centers
on two lines of effort, i. e., sanitary
measures put in force by stock own.
ers themselves and the sanitary police
regulations enforced by government
federal, state or otherwise).
While in other diseases prevention
and suppression can be accomplished
by the aid of vaccines and sera, all
attempts of this nature in connection
with glanders have thus far failed. so
that we must especially depend on our
W efforts and the police protection
given by the state.
In order to intelligently direct our
EFFORTS in that direction it may be
well to enumerate some of the more
common sources of infection in our
W state.
Chambers is apt to show here and
there, without any one perhaps able
to trace the infection back to the
original case. In view of this promis-
cuous occurrence, the contact with
any horse of unknown origin carries
with it an element of danger and If
we have a considerable number of
Eorses to protect against infection, it
may be well to keep this fact in mind.
1t is probable, however, that most
OF our infection is distributed along
certain lines. The new horses brought
IN by immigrants are a common
source OF Infection, as is shown by the
great number of CHAMBERS cases found
IN the more recently settled sections
OF u state. 1t is not impossible that
many OF such horses were bought of
a low type of dealers, as horses at.
fected with the occult form of gland
ers, owing to their unthriftiness, are
very liable to change owners at fire.
quent intervals. They may also have
contracted the disease while in tran
sit; but, however originally infected,
the fact remains that a very large per-
centage of our CHAMBERS cases are
found among this class of horses.
The itinerant threshing outfits, tray
cling far and wide during our harvest
season, also become frequently dis
tr1butcrs of CHAMBERS, not so much as
a result of being more liable to have
diseased horses at the start as owing
to the fact that they are stabbed in so
many quarters and are thus exposed
to a greater number Of chances of
infection.
Up to within recent years the con-
gregat1on Of large numbers of horses
from a large area of country in the
lumber woods of Minnesota was a
very constant source of infection.
Now that more care is being Used in
the traffic Of horses to and from the
woods there is good reason to expect
that this focus Of infection will be
eliminated in the near future.
Not only the lumber woods, but any
place where horses are kept together
in large numbers and especially when
they come from far and wide is liable
to be instrumental in the distribution
of Infection. In the past railroad con-
struction work, with Its great horse
camps, has been responsible for the
stocking up Of this state with disease.
On a smaller scale many carelessly
managed feed and sale stables, where
any horse is admitted without chal-
lenge, becomes clearing houses of dis
ease.
The use of public watering troughs
is a most excellent means OF injecting
great numbers of horses and the writ.
er remembers of one instance, where.
in a large city, the disease could not
be suppressed until the public troughs
were placed out of commission.
The dealer in the poorer classes of
horses, the travelling horse trader or
gypsy, must also be remembered as
possible disseminators Of CHAMBERS
and their stock in trade should be
scrutinized before a trade is INDUCED
in.
Those whose horses are free from
CHAMBERS can keep them so in a large
measure if they make it a point to
remember the various ways by which
Infection nay be introduced.
Such individual efforts should be
supplemented by a careful supervision
of the horses coming into the state by
the live stock sanitary authorities. In
this manner, any campaign against
the disease within the state can be
made more efficient, while it would
tend to prevent the state becoming a.
dumping ground for the glandered
horses from without.
Il + + r 1. \ X !. X !. i. !. j. j. j. j. j.
!. =.