The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1914-11-26
Foot-and-M Mouth Disease.

fU. s. Dept Of Agriculture News Letter.
The outbreak Of foot-and- mouth dis
ease has already affected an area 30
large that it is evident that most active
measures are necessary to eradicate it.
Cases have been found as far apart as
Iowa and Massachusetts, and at the time
of this writing (Nov. 10Y ID States have
been Guaranteed Massachusetts. New
York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Maryland,
Iowa, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and
Delaware. 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 virulence
and in extent of area affected the pres
ent outbreak is more serious than any OF
the five previous ones which have &C.
Cured in the United States.
These previous outbreaks have not
been sufficiently serious either to famll-
iarize farmers with the symptoms OF the
disease or to render them fully alive to
the losses that it occasions when permit
ted to gain firm foothold. One OF Its
most dangerous characteristics IS Its ex-
IRENE contagiousness. Not only may 1t
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 ALREADY
been found in which it seems certain
that the disease was spread by the cur
iosity 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 eX-
plains the action of the Federal authorl-
ties in quarantining such large areas.
The practice is to clap blanket OF quar-.
antine on the State in which case OF
the disease has been found, and then, by
careful investigation, determine the ex-
act area infected. When an animal sui
fering from foot-and-mouth disease IS
discovered in herd the whole herd is at
once slaughtered. Otherwise 1t would
remain a dangerous source of infection
and be a menace to the entire commun-
ity. 1t is customary TO appoint an ap.
praiser to value the herd. One-half OF
the appraised value is paid to the owner
by the Federal Government and one-haif
by the State. The slaughtered animals
are buried in a 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 man
ner previous outbreaks have been COM
pletely 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 eX-
istence is not reported to the proper au-
thorities. Farmers are therefore urged,
both for their own protection and as
duty to their neighbors, to report lmme-
diately 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 a number of other ANIMALS OF less
commercial Importance which are also
susceptible. Occasionally human beings
are affected, but in the majority OF IN
stances the disease is not severe IN the
case of man. Children, 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 tenn
perature rising rapidly, sometimes to
1UO uGP. L. LII oIOAS eltAlS SAS.So
about the size of the pea appear in the
inside of the cheeks and on the gums.
These vesicles contain yellowish watery
fluid. They spread as the disease adj
vances and cause the animal to open and
shut its mouth uneasily with charac-
teristic smacking sound. A day or two
after the first appearance OF the erup-
lions in the mouth similar indications
appear upon the feet, which are swollen,
red, and tender. Because of this the
animal frequently persists In lying down,
and bedsores develop with much rapldlty.
In the case of cows the udder and, more
frequently, the teats are affected by a
similar eruption.
Once the disease is we'll established 1t
becomes so painful for the animal to eat
that food is frequently refused altogeth-
err. Strings of saliva hang from the
mouth, and flesh is lost with astonishing
rapidity, When the udder is seriously
affected the milk becomes contaminated
and NAV cause serious results to sucking
calves and young pigs. In mild cases
from 10 to 20 days may bring about an
apparent recovery, but this time may be
greatly extended. Moreover, an appar-
ent recovery by no means implies real
cure. The animal may carry the virus
in it's blood for year or more and is
liable during all this time to spread the
contag;on or to experience recurrence
itself. The mortality, considering the
seriousness of the disease and the losses
it occasions, is very small, being esti-
mated by some authorities at per cent,
although it frequently is much greater
than this. The mortality, however, by
no means represents the real losses occa-
stoned by the disease. No revenue is
possible from infected herds, and in the
case of dairymen an outbreak of foot
and-mouth disease frequently means that
their business is completely ruined.
Blooded or other cattle that have become
sick with the disease naturally lose their
value as breeding animals. 1t is, how
ever, impossible to get rid of the disease
by ignoring it. The only possible rem
edy IS to kill off infected herds, disinfect
the premises, and begin over again.
What the disease means to those coun-
tries where it has gained a real grip IS
shown by the fact that on its last serl-
GUS outbreak in Germany the German
Government spent $4,000, 600 in fighting
it. In 1890 official statistics showed that
in the German Empire 431, z35 head OF
cattle, 23O, 1868 sheep and goats, and 1885,
| 2O2 swine were affected with the disease.