West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1914-11-19
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE
Rigid Quarantine has been Establish
ed In Several States over Interstate =
Shipment OF Live Stock-Disease Is
Extremely Contagious

wv hhtaouito aAt utNtSSdIN 10 HTdQl-
cate 1t. Cases have been found as far
apart as Iowa and Massachusetts. and
at the time OF this writing November
lO) thirteen states have been quaran-.
tined - Massachusetts,. New York.
Pennsylvania. Indiana, Illinois, Michi-
gan. Ohio, Wisconsin, Maryland, Iowa.
Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Della
ware. Interstate shipments OF live
stock from these states are absolutely
prohibited, and such articles as hides.
straw, hay, etc., must be thoroughly
disinfected before they can be moved
In interstate commerce. Both In viru-
lence and in extent of area affected the
present outbreak is more serious than
any OF the five previous ones which
have occurred in the United States.
These previous outbreaks have not
been sufficiently serious either to ia
miliarize farmers with the symptoms
OF the disease or to render them fully
alive TO the losses that IL occasions
when permitted to gain a firm foot
hold. One of its most dangerous char
acteristics is it's extreme contagious
ness. Not only may it be conveyed
directly from one animal to another.
but IL may be transported i'm fodder
picked up from the ground and car
ried over the country by cats. dogs.
and chickens. or communicated
through the agency of man. Cases
have already been found in which IL
seems certain that the disease was
spread by the curiosity of farmers TO
inspect suffering animals. They re-
turned from these visits TO commune
cate the disease to their own pre-
viously healthy herds
The contagiousness OF the disease
| explains tie action of the Federa, au-
thorities in quarantining such large
areas. The practice is TO clap a blan-
ket OF quarantine on the State i'm
which case of the disease has been
found, and then by careful investiga-
ton, determine the exact area infect
| ed. When an animal suffering from
foot and mouth disease is discovered
in herd the whole herd is at once
| slaughtered. Otherwise IL would re-
| main a dangerous source of infection
and be menace to the entire com
mun1ty 1t is customary to appoint
an appraiser to value the herd. One
| half OF the appraised value is paid to
the owner by the Federal Government
and one-half by the State. The slaugh-
tered animals are buried in deem
trench, their hides slashed to make IL
useless for any one to dig them up
| again, and the carcasses are satur-
| ated with quick lime. In this manner
previous outbreaks have been COM
| pletely stamped out and there is ey
cry reason to hope that this will be.
the case this year. The chief daneeH
is that there may be infected herds
whose existence is not reported to
the proper authorities. Farmers are
therefore urged, both for their own
protection and as a duty to their
neighbors, to report Immediately all
cases of suspicious sore mouths or
iameness among their stock.
Foot-and-mouth disease Affects
| chiefly cattle, sheep, goats. and swine
put there a. e number of other ami
mails OF less commercial Importance
which are also susceptible. Occasion
| ally human beings are affected but I'm
the majority of instances the. disease
Is not severe in the case of man.
children, however, may become dan
gerously i'll il their milk is infected
The first indications of the disease
are chill followed by a high foyer
the temperature rising rapidly some
times to loo degrees +. In a short
time vesicles about the size of the pea
appear in the mouth at the end NJ
the tongue, on the inside of the
cheeks' and on the gums. These vesi-
cles contain a yellowish waterv
huid. They spread as the disease adj
vances and cause the animal IN oman
and shut its mouth uneasily with a
characteristic smacking sound. A day
or two after the first appearance of
the eruptions in the mouth similar in
dications appear upon the feet. which
are swollen, red. and tender. Re-,
cause of this the animal frequently
persists in lying down. and bedsores
develop with much rapidity. I'm the
case Of cows the udder and. more fire.
quently, the teats are affected by a
similar eruption.
once the disease is well establish
ed It becomes so painful for the ami
NAL TO eat that food is frequently 70.
FUSED altogether. Strings OF saliva
hang from the mouth and flesh is Lost
with astonishing rapidity. When the
udder IS seriously affected the mill
becomes contaminated and may cause
serious results to sucking calves and
young pigs. In mild cases from 10 IN
~ days may bring about an apparent
recovery but this time may be greatly
extended. Moreover, N apparent re-
coVery by no means implies a real
cure. The animal may carry the virus
III us blood for n year or more and 10
liable during all this time TO spread
the contagion or TO experience a re-
currence itself The mortality CON
Sidering the seriousness Of the disease
and the losses # occasions. is very
small being estimated by some au-
thorities at 8 per cent. although n
frequently is much greater than THE