Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-11-13
QUARANTINE.
Against The Foot and Mouth Disease.
Statement From the Secretary of
Agriculture In Regard to the Feder-
- al "+. ~ ~-- - t,f -
al Measures.

The Secretary of Agriculture has
issued the following statement re-
garding the quarantine for foot and
mouth disease:
The present outbreak of the foot
fand-mouth disease, which is one of
the most contagious and destructive
diseases of cattle, swine and sheep,
exceeds in area affected any of the
five previous outbreaks in this count
try. Unless the infection can be i'm
mediately localized and quickly eradi-
Gated, it threatens untold losses among
live stock.
So contagious is the disease that in
past outbreaks where but one animal
in a herd was infected, the entire herd
in almost all cases later contracted
the sickness. While the mortality is
not high the effect of the disease even
on animals that recover are such as
to make them practically useless.
They lose flesh rapidly; in the LAST of
cows, the milk dries up or is made
dangerous for human consumption;
in the case of breeding animals, the
animal once infected becomes valu-
less for breeding, as it. may continue
to be a constant carrier of contagion.
1t is possible to cure the external
symptoms, but during the process
of attempting to cure sick animal
the chances r that hundreds of 9TH
ers may be infected. The treatment
or killing of a single animal ina herd
was tried in an outbreak and did not
prove effective, for the reason that
the remainder of the herd soon be-
came affected and had to- be killed.
As a resulted the five outbreaks in
this country, and sother disastrous
epidemics of the disease in Europe and
Great Britain, veterinary authorities
of the United States are agreed that
the only method of combating the dis
ease is to- stop all movement of stock
and material which have been subject
ed to any danger of infection, and to
kill. off without delay all herds in
which the disease has gained any foot
hold. This enables the authorities to
eradicate affected herds and to iso-
late and hold under observation all
suspected herds.
For these reasons, the Department
of Agriculture has already quaran-
tined ten States for the foot-and-
mouth disease. The Federal quaran-
tine prevents all interstate movement
of stock and materials likely to car
ry the infection. At the same time,
the State authorities are imposing
local quarantine which prevent the
passage of animals from farms or
localities known to be infected to 9TH
err localities in the same State in
which the disease has, not appeared.
Each infected herd, as. rapidly as. the
disease is discovered, is killed and the
dead animals buried in a covering of
lime. The skins of the animals are
slashed $50 as to permit the rapid ac--
tiDn of the lime. ~ - va
The owner of the slaughtered amin
ais is. reimbursed ON basis of the APP.
praised value of hegherd, the apprais-
er being appointed by the State. The
expenses of the whole process of con-
domination. and disinfection is divided
equally between the Federal and State
Until thedentire, premises have been
thoroughlyi d~isinfected and all danger
of spreading the disease removed, the
farm is q~uaFantined .bYsthe local au-
thorities in the same way in which it
would be o a contagious human dis.
ease. stThis local quarantine prevents
the visit of individuals OF the trans
fer Of any produce or animals from
the farm to zother farms. In some
cases, becaase human beings can car
ry the disease to-, other herds, the
State authorities have prevented chill,
dren on. infected farms from attend
ing school. In other cases, as in Hill
nois and Ohio, the State authorities
have closed the stock yards until they
can be cleaned and .disinfected. =
The first effort of the Department
is to discover and segregate all amin
ais sickAwith the disease or. that have
been exposed. To this end, the Feder-
al and State inspectors are now trac-
ing up, through bills of lading and
railroad records, all shipments of
live cattle which have been made dur
ing the last sixty days out of any of
the infected sor. suspected districts.
The herds of animals so shipped are
located and Immediately examined by
veterinarians. In this way the pres
ence of .foot-and-mouth disease has
been discovered in various places in
the present wide area now under Fed
erai quarantine, which includes Mass
achusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsyl-
vania, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland,
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. SINH