The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-04-30
SKINNED
M|LKF0OT AND
MOUTH MENACE
LARGE NUMBER OF HOGS STRIck-
EN- IN PRESENT OUTBREAK At
TRlsUTED TO THIS CAUSE. GAR
BAGE ALSO MAY BE BLAMED.

feature of the present outbreak OF
foot and mouth disease to which the
federal authorities attach much I'M
portance is the unprecedentedly large
number of hogs which have been al
fected Both actually and in proportion
to the total number of animals strlck-
en-. this has been much larger than in
any of the previous outbreaks in this
country. The chief reason, the author
tiles say, is the spread of the infec-
ton through uncooked skinned milk
and other creamery by products re-
turned to the farms to be fed hogs.
Infected garbage, it is thought, is also
to be held responsible for a portion OF
the loss.
In the epidemic of 1902, in which A.
461 animals were lost, only $50 OF
the total were hogs. The loss in cat
tie amounted to nearly 81 per cent of
the total, that in hogs to only'S per
cent, and in other animals to only 3
per cent In the present epidemic,
however, the loss in hogs has been
almost equal to that of cattle, each be-
ing within a fraction of AZ per cent.
OF 146,13S animals lost since the out
break of the disease in Michigan last
fall, 6S,776 were cattle; 6S,275 hogs;
and the remainder, 9,OS7, sheep and
goats. The epidemic of 1908 stands in
this respect, as well as in time, mid
way between those of 1902 and 1914.
In 1908, 56 per cent of the loss was in
cattle, 81 per cent in hogs, and ap-
proximately per cent in other ami
mails.
In the opinion of specialists, these
figures demonstrate the necessity for
more rigid regulations in regard to
the feeding of skinned milk, similar
dairy products and garbage. Since
1902 creameries have become much
more common and the danger to the
country of their returning unpasteur'
lied milk to the farms has become
correspondingly greater. In Michit
gan, it has been definitely established
that in the early days of the outbreak
the infection was spread through
skinned milk fed to hogs, and there
is every reason to believe that the
same thing occurred in a number OF
other localities. 1t is easy to pasteur'
ize the skinned milk, and the extra
expense is not sufficient to warrant
the neglect of this precaution. Pas
teurization has been shown to be a
complete safeguard against the spread
of foot-and-mouth disease through the
milk, either to human beings or to
animals.
The question of infected garbage is
more difficult to handle, for by no
means all of the meat in this country
is subject to federal inspection. In
many sections meat animals are
slaughtered locally. Cooking will de-
stroy the foot-and-mouth germ so that
this meat can be eaten without bad re-
suits, but the trimmings skin,
the fat, and particularly the marrow
which are thrown away or fed to hogs,
may be at the same time highly in
fectious.
In Philadelphia the disease has re-
Gently appeared in several herds of
garbagefed hogs, and although it is
not absolutely certain that the conta-
gion was conveyed through this
means, it seems quite possible that it
was. The sterilization of garbage in
tended for hogs is, therefore, like the
pasteurization of skinned milk and
similar products, very desirable pre-
caution. In fact, the federal authori-
ties do not hesitate to say that expert
ence in this outbreak demonstrates the
need of state legislation on this sub
ject. In the absence of legislation,
the farmer who wishes to be sure of
his skinned milk, should boil it after
its return from the creamery.