Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-01-19
FARMERS AND
FOOT AND MOUTH
DISEASE FIGHT
Value of Public Help in Stamping
Out Malady With all Posi-
BILE Speed.
SOME EXPERIENCES CITED.
Skim Milk Source of Much Infec.
tion-Dogs and Chickens
Garry Germs.
SOME EXPERIENCES CITED.

Washington, Jan. 1S.-The re.
cent lifting of the foot-an-moutf
Guarantines from large areas prev.
iously closed and the modification
of the guarantees in still other Sec
tions has been made possible, feder.
al authorities say, by the coopera'
ton, not only of the various state
officials, but of farmers and stock.
men themselves. Where this coop.
Grafton has been most in evidence
progress in the eradication of the
disease has been most rapid. The
federal authorities have of course
control over the movement of live
stock in interstate commerce only;
the local guarantees are establish.
ed and enforced by the state. Their
efficiency depends in great measure
upon the willingness Of the people
to submit to the necessary restric-
tons.
Indiana and Michigan are cited
as instances of the Importance in
this respect of public opinion. In
Michigan the first herd was slaught.
cred on October 10. Cases of the
disease existed in Is Michigan
counties and in IS in Indiana. In
all $50 herds were affected. Sixty
days later these herds had all been
slaughtered and the infected prem
Uses cleaned and freed from disease.
In the interval there had been only
a few scattering instances, half a
dozen possibly, of the plague spread
ing from these different centers of
infection to neighboring farms.
In case in Michigan an individ-
ual with a weakness for dogs of
which he owned five or six ignored
the regulation which required all
dogs to be tied up in order to pre-
vent their picking up and spreading
the disease. With him as with the
calf-owner it was the neighbors
who objected. The sheriff tied up
the dogs and their owner paid a
fine of 1923. A week or ten days
afterwards he was punished more
severely by the loss of all his cattle
which came down with the disease
and had to be slaughtered. There
had been no previous outbreak in
that neighborhood for three weeks.
Although dogs, as in this case, and
chickens unquestionably act as me-
chanical carriers in spreading the
disease, in Indiana and Michigan
the creameries were found to be one
Of the chief sources of contagion.
One of the first steps taken by the
authorities was to insist upon the
creameries sterilizing the skinned
milk and whey before these were
returned to be fed to stock At the
beginning of the campaign in Ber-
rien county, Michigan, there were
at least 10 herds infected in an
area approximately IS miles wide.
OF this infection 70 per cent was
traced to skinned milk returned
by the creameries. After the order
requiring sterilization went into eff
feet, one establishment allowed its
apparatus to get out of order and
three days went by before it was
repaired. Infection in 33 herds was
traced to the carelessness of these |
three days.
In Allegan county, again, there
was one small herd affected, the
owner Of which was one of fifty
nine patrons of a creamery. Though |
he delivered milk to it for only one
or two days this was sufficient to
infect p herds and it was consider
ed fortunate that all of the So pat
rons did not suffer.
From such experiences as these
livestock authorities are more than !
ever convinced that skim milk
should invariably be steriliZed.
The danger from the foot-and
mouth disease is OF course a pass
ing one. Previous epidemics have
been stamped out and there is no
reason to suppose that this one will
not be. tuberculosis, however, is
a permanent menace. It's symptoms
are not SO Immediately noticeable
and it is therefore more difficult to
trace the origin of the infection but
there is no doubt that it is frequent
Iy disseminated in skim milk in the
same way that the foot-and-mouth
disease was in the instances de- !
,cribed. Together with the cream
,ries, public sales of life stock have