The Record-courier. [volume] (Gardnerville, Nev.) 1904-current, 1917-06-22
TREATMENT
FOR STOCK

The disease which has for several
years caused such serious losses
among Carson Valley cattle is un-
doubtedly hemorrhagic septicemia,
said DR.. w. b. Mack, Director of the
State Veterinary Control Service, in
an interview with the Record-C Courier.
The history obtained from ranchers
indicates that 1t has existed here for
many years but until recently It was
generally supposed to be anthrax,
which 1t resembles closely. In fact,
Carson Valley has for long time
born an undeservedly evil reputation
for anthrax, due to a mistaken dag
nosis and many ranchers who have
voccfnated their herds against an
thrax in fruitless attempt to check
the ravages Of another disease have
cursed the vaccine as of no uce when
the fault lay not in the vaccine but
in an attempt to use it for an en-
tirely different purpose than that for
which 1t was designed.
OF course, there is some anthrax In
Carson Valley but only In restricted
localities. Most of the ranches are
free from 1t but | have found 1t in a
few instances.
All vaccines and sera specific, that
is, they will protect only against the
one disease for which they are pre-
pared. To attempt to protect cattle
against hemorragic septicema by
the use of anthrax or any other vac
cine or serum, other than one pre-
pared for hemorrhagic septicemia is,
OF course, utterly useless. Therefore
the necessity for an accurate, precise
diagnosis. before undertaking pre-
ventative measures by the use of
specific immunizing agents, is
obvious.
However, henorragic septicemia
as 1t occurs in Nevada, differs In
many respects from what the books
describe as the usual form. II it was
the usual type 1t would be as easily
diagnosable as anthrax, but that is
not the CAGE. l have long suspected
the disease was hemorrhagic sep
ticemia but could not prove It salts
iactorily by the methods ordinarily
empolyed. 1t Is one thing to have
an opinion, quite another to prove 1t
conclusively. We have to use var
icus methods beside the usual ones.
When my attention was first called
to this disease and I began to study
1t, | knew. after examining few
cases, that 1t was anthrax, but for q
long time | could not demonstrate
It's real identity. l now feel reason
ably certain that the provisional
diagnosis is correct.
AS rule the losses are scattering.
few cases in herd. now and then
one. Sometimes large number
from herd will be affected within a
short time. The natural death rate is
about 80 per cent of those affected.
We have studied this disease ex-
haustively, seeking not only to identi-
fly but to control it and hoping to find
a cure.
We have experimental with pre-
yentative and control measures upon
a large scale, testing out first the eff
feet Ct vaccine and more recently a
seruIl, beth of which We prepare The
vaccine is intended to immunize cat
tie against the infection, the serum is
to be used in the treatment of already
developed cases. We have taccinaed
over 1000 cattle They do not all re-
quire complete immunity, but appar-
emily the vaccination reduces the
number of cases very materially.
We have treated twenty-one cases
with serum. Seven have died and
fourteen recovered. In so serious
a disease as this, the reduction of the
0Vdtn iotC iAOni 'V POA WIN W 00OuS
30 per cent is encouraging. OF
course, 1t will be necessary to treat
large number of cases with serum be-
fore its real virtue or lack Of 1t is
demonstrated. but the result thus far
is promising.
Much of this work has been done
in Carson Valley by DR.. F. H. Baker,
working under my direction. II
every case is promptly reported SO
that proper action can be at once TAX
en-, this matter will become ancient
history as is the case with the hog
cholera outbreak which we SO sue
cessfully suppressed here a few years
ago.
Hemorrhagic Septicemia is infec-
tious but does not appear to be con-
tageous. The microorganism which
causes II urOha hlv axists In the soil