The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1914-12-11
F0OT.AND-MOUTH DISEASE
characteristics OF the Disease and the
Methods Adopted to Prevent
Its Spread

The United States department of
agriculture gives the following inter
citing information concerning the
t-and-mouth disease in stock in it's
weekly news letter to crop CORES
pondents:
l. The outbreak of foot-and-mouth dis
ease has already affected an area so
large that it is evident that most ac-
tive measures are necessary to eradi-
cate It, Cases have been found as far
apart as Iowa and Massachusetts, and
at the time of this writing (Nov. 10)
l3 states have been quarantined-
| Massachusetts, New York, Pennsyl-
yania, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan
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
III interstate commerce. Both in vir-
ulence 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
milidrize farmers with the symptoms
of the disease or to render them fully
alive to the losses that it occasions
when permitted to gain firm foot
hold. One of the most dangerous
characteristics is its extreme contag-
iousness. Not only may it be conveyed
directly from one animal to another
but it may be transported in fodder,
picked up from the ground and carried
over the country by cats, dogs, and
chickens, or communicated through
the agency of man. Cases have al
ready been found in which it seems
certain that the disease was spread
by the curiosity of farmers to inspect
suffering animals They returned
from these visits to communicate the
disease to their own previously
healthy herds.
The contagiousness of the disease
explains the action of the Federal
authorities in quarantining such large
areas. The practice is to clap u
blanket of quarantine on the state in
which case of the disease has been
found, and then, by careful investiga-
ton, determine the exact area infected. |
When an animal suffering from foot
herd the whole herd is at once |
slaughtered. Otherwise it would re-
main a dangerous source of infection |
and be a menace to the entire COM
munlty 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 |
slaughtered animals are buried In n |
deep trench, their hides slashed to |
make it useless for anyone to dig |
them up again, and the carcasses are |
saturated with quicklime. In this |
manner previous outbreaks have been |
completely stamped out and there is
every reason to hope that this will |
be the case this year. The chief |
danger 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 duty to their |
neighbors, to report Immediately all |
cases of suspicious sore mouths or
lameness among their stock.
Foot-and-mouth disease affects |
chiefly cattle, sheep, goats and swine, |
but there are number of other animals |
OF less commercial Importance which |
are also susceptible. Occasionally hu-
man beings are affected, but in the |
majority of instances the disease is |
not severe in the case of man. Child |
rem however, may become dangerously |
i'll if their milk is infected.
The first indications Of the disease |
are a chill followed by high fever, |
the temperature rising rapidly, some |
times to l06 degrees f. In a short |
time vesicles about the size of the pea
appear in the mouth at the end of the |
tongue, on the inside of the cheeks |
and on the gums These vesicles con-
tain a yelloiwsh watery fluid They
cause the animal to open and shut it's
mouth uneasily with a characteristic
smacking sound. A day or two after
the first appearance of the eruptions
in the mouth similar indications ap-
pear upon the feet, which are swollen,
red and tender. Because of this the
animal frequently persists in lying
down, and bedsores develop with much
rapidity. In the case of cows the I'D
der and more frequently, the teats are
affected by similar eruption,
Once the disease is we'll established
| il becomes so painful for the animal
u eat that food is frequently refused
altogether. Strings of saliva hang
from the mouth and flesh is lost with
astonishing rapidity When the udder