The Coconino sun., 1915-11-05
TEST ARIZONA CATTLE
 FOR TUBERCULOSIS

hundreds of dairy cows have been tested for tuberculosis. These ami mals have been used chiefly in the fresh milk trade. It has been found that about 1 per cent of the native animals have reacted, while about 10 per cent of the cows brought in from outside the state have been condemned for tuberculosis. There is no doubt that it would pay to test all cows in the state and discard all those that react from the heard. In the first place, cows that have this disease are menace to people consuming the milk as well as the other cows in the herd. Farmers would do well to test their cows and remove all suspicious animals, advises Dr. R. H. Williams, Animal Husbandman of the U. of A. Agricultural Experiment Station. As each COW that reacts with this test means a loss of $50 to $100, it is i'm portant that care is exercised in the technique of the test. On this ac- count, qualified veterinarian should be employed. The test is simple and considered reliable in fully 97 per cent of the cases. It has been found that cows very advanced with this disease sometimes do not react, but the tuber- culin test is the best means we have of diagnosing the trouble. Another test that has been used during recent years is called the "eye test or opthal- mic," which is done by introducing certain powder into the eye, which has a distinct effect in tubercular cows. Either of these tests is con sidered the only safe means of ascert- aiming the presence of diseased an- 1 imals.
 Conducting the Tuberculin Test: i One should ascertain the normal tenn perature of the animals before inject ing the tubercuin. This is done by taking the temperature at about 2, , and D. m. and making the injection from to 10 at night. The COW should be maintained as quietly as possible in familiar surroundings so as not to excite or affect her so that the tenn perature will not be other than nor mal About 6 hours after injection, the temperature of cows suffering from tuberculosis usually begins to rise and continue to rise until about the 18th hour, when it reaches its maximum. After this time, the tenn perature falls until the normal is reached at about 2S hours. Thus, it would seem that cows giving a typical reaction should increase in temper ature gradually, reaching the highest point, after which they gradually de- crease. This gives a crescent shaped temperature curve in typical reactions. The Bureau of Animal Industry re- comments taking the temperature about 8 to 10 hours after injecting with tuberculin and the readings con tinued at intervals of hours; in all a minimum of readings taken. Thus, it would seem that if readings are made the second day at 6, 9 and 12 a. m. and and D., m. one should locate any reactions that may take place.
 Three rules are urged to interpret whether animals react or not. In the first place, it is generally considered that the temperature should run up higher than 1O3.S degrees F. before the animals are condemned Along with this an increase of degrees from the normal temperature is con- sidered second requirement; and the third test is the characteristic curve as stated above Where these three conditions exist, one is justified in concluding that the cows are dis eased. One of the points to be con- sidered in making this test is to be sure the normal temperature of the COW is known. To accomplish this it is necessary to take the temperature at the same time before injecting as 1 you intend to take the readings after injection. It is mistake to think tha' the normal temperature of COW may be secured by taking reading at s o'clock in the morning and again at 8 in the evening, as the highest temper ature reached by an animal is about or o'clock in the evening On this account, it is recommended that the preliminary readings should be taken at 12 o'clock at noon, 6 in the evening and 10 at night or at 2, 5 and 8 p. m. If the cows are maintained in a quiet, normal condition and the test conducted as above described, one may l be certain that they will not be con demned unless they are actually suf-