The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1914-04-07
High School Boy
Discusses Disease
Bernard Rice Writes Essay on Tu-
berculosis of Cattle And Its
Remedies

tuberculosis is a widespread di-
sease effecting animals and man.
Human beings and cattle are it's
chief victims, but there is no kind
of animals that will not take it. Hogs
and chickens are quite often effected;
horse, sheep and goats but seldom,
while cattle are the most susceptible
of all animals.
Where tuberculosis first came from
nobody knows. History records it
from the earliest times.
Over century ago it's contagious
nature was suspected and many facts
were recorded to prove that it must
be catching. Doctors differed and
for long time the question was
holly disputed. Finally it was settled
by DR.. Robert Rocks, a distinguished
German physician, who discovenad
the germ of the disease in 1882, and
named it Bacillus tuberculosis.
In America the disease was intro
duced with early importations of
cattle, and has been with us ever
since. Modern improvements of trans
portation have spred the disease all
over the continent. No part of the
country is entirely free from it, but
it is more prevalent near the great
centers of population than in the re-
moter parts.
Importance of Disease
The Importance of the disease must
be estimated from two points of
view, first, the loss it brings to the
cattle owner, and second, the danger
of communication to human lives
Consider first its effect upon the
pocket OF the owner of cattle, wheth-
er farmer, breeder or dairyman A
serious percentage of the dairy cows
of the continent are affected and the
disease is found in even a larger per-
centage of dairy herds The disease
is commoner in some localities than
in Others
1t is no uncommon thing to find
as many as seventy per cent or
eighty per cent of the cows in
herd diseased. These animals will
be In various stages of the disease.
some recently affected, showing no
sign of i'll health, others badly di-
seased but outwardly appearing
healthy, while a few are evidently
breaking down and wasting away.
The loss to the owner is evident
when cow dies of the disease, or
when an apparently healthy cow is
slaughtered for beef and found so
badly affected as to be unfit for
food.
The calves in such a herd do not
long remain healthy, they catch the
disease before many months old and
are source of loss instead of gain.
Although the disease is most fire.
quently found in herds that are more
or less closely confined, such as dairy
herds and pure bred cattle, other
herds are by no means free from it.
Even range cattle are sometimes af-
fected and the infection spreads in
spite of the open air life of the
| cattle
tuberculosis is common among
hogs. The public abatoirs report
that serious percentage of all hogs
Inspected are found tuberculor.
The losses among cattle and hogs
is enormous, amounting to millions
! of dollars each year, and materially
decreasing the food supply of the
country.
Human Life Threatened
Turning to the other aspect of the
cases the danger of infection of
human beings with tuberculosis from
cattle, We have only to consider a
few facts to realize its vital impor-
lance in every community.
Milk is the staple food of infants
and young children and is usually
taken in its raw stage. If this milk
is from tuberculosis cow, it may
contain millions of living tubercle
germs. Young children fed on such
milk often contract the disease, and
it is a frequent cause of death among
them.
Meat from tuberculosis cattle is
not so likely to convey an infec-
ton for several reasons. 1t does not
so frequently contain the germs,
cooking destroys those that may be
present and lastly, meat is not con-
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