The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1912-09-12
HORSE PLAGUE IS
NOT COMMUNICABLE T
TO HUMAN BEINGS
This Much is Establish
ed In the Kansas
Plague
FARM WORK HALTS
FARM WORK HALTS
Forty Counties Are Affected
and Veterinarians Confer
to Combat Disease

Topeka, Kans.-The disease that
has killed SO many horses in central
and western Kansas is not communi-
cable to men. That is the conclusion
reached by DR.. S. j. Crumbine, secre-
tary of the Kansas Board of Health,
and DIR. A. l.. Skogg, meningitis ex-
pert for the board. They went to Jet
more last Friday to investigate re-
port that man was stricken with the
same disease that was so prevalent
among horses.
The symptoms were practically the
same, but careful investigation of
the case revealed no connection be-
tween the trouble of the young man
and that of the norses and further
investigation of the horse disease by
the two physicians brought the con-
clusion that it was not communicable
to humans and no DANCES from chat
source was found. There is a danger
that the failure to burn the dead
animals may cause sickness and
health officials were directed to see
that every animal was buried at
once.
Use Too Strong Medicine.
There isn't any doubt that the
cause OF the disease among the hors-
es is in the pastures" Doctor Crum-
bine said. THAT is one thing we are
thoroughly satisfied with and anoth-
er important conclusion we came to
is that many horses are being killed
by medicines and not by the disease.
We found influenza serum was
being administered and this had the
same result as the disease-it kill
ed the horses.
Conference in Topeka Today.
The veterinarians ON their way to
Topeka for conference are expected
to come to some definite conclusion
as to what steps should be taken to
stop the spread OF the disease. DR..
Buckley, the government pathologist,
arrived with much material he had
secured from infected horses. He
would not disclose anything he found
until the experiments he stated with
the material collected had been fin
ished.
j. H. Mercer, state live stock san
itary commissioner, did not receive
any report of the disease breaking
out in additional counties today, but
he had reports of many additional
cases in the forty counties already af-
fected. In few of the extreme north
west counties there were new cases.
i Checked When Pastures were Closed.
| Governor Stubbs received about
twenty kilograms today from city and
county officials all confirming the
belief that the horses not in the pas
ture were not effected and that the
horses taken out of the pastures
when the disease first broke out and
then fed clean feed and water and
given condition medicines were inn
mune from the disease. Some horses
taken out of the pastures but fed
poor hay and allowed to drink from
standing water had been infected
with the disease.
Stops Farm Work.
Farm work in Ness, Lane, Pawnee
and Hodgeman counties is at a stand
still as result of the epidemic which
has killed so many hundred horses
4 there, and in Barton, Russell, Stat
ford, Ford, Scott, Finney and sur
rounding counties where the disease
is bad there is fear that the same
condition may exist there in a few
days.
Farmers have stopped work in
Ness and other counties, and the
threshing crews are idle for the first
time since starting work this sum-
mer The smallertowns are doing
practically no business and conditions
are worse than if the country was
having a business panic.
!, AS rule fifty to seventy-five
travelling men visit the towns or
the Great Bend to Scott City branch
every week and do good business
but several of them who started out
Tuesday said they did not make ex.
penses. Business is dead in the var.
ious towns up in that country.
lNnlInl nEAAAnpIEn