The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-08-05

introducing the germ which causes 1t.
 This germ Is always present in ule bodies
 of sick hogs, and Is thrown off from them in large numbers in the feces and
 urine, thus contaminating the yards or
 pens In which sick hogs are kept. The
 most dangerous factor in spreading hoA cholera is, therefore. the sick hog; but any agency which might serve to carry a particle of dirt from infected yards may be the means of starting an outbreak of the disease.
 Sick hogs may get onto farm Q) by escaping from a neighboring herd, @
 by the purchase of new stock which may
 show no symptoms of sickness until some days after purchase, (0 by return ing show hogs to the herd after visits to fairs or stock shows, (D by purchase of hogs which have apparently recov- cred from hog cholera. The risk in- cured by purchase of new hogs or the return of hogs which have been shown at fairs is chiefly due to the fact that such hogs are generally transported by rail, unloaded in public stock yards, or driven along public roads. It is well
 known that sick hogs are frequently shipped by rail, and the roads over which they are driven, the stock yards. and the railroad cars thus become contaminated with the germs of hog cholera. When healthy hogs are placed in such cars or yards or driven along public roads they almost always have the opportunity to
 contract the disease, but the interval between shipment and delivery to the purchaser is so short that the symptoms do not appear until a week or more after
 delivery, when 1t is usually too late to prevent the spread of disease to hogs
 already on the farm. Obviously, the only safe plan in such cases Is to place all new arrivals in lots entirely sepa- rated from those occupied by the main tO iSO1 ed all danger of their developing hog cholera has passed.
 GERMS IN DIRT
 Aside from the danger of introducing infection through the hogs themselves it must be remembered that the germ of the disease, which already stated, is infinitestimally small may be trans ported in minute particle of dirt on the feet of attendants or nelghbors who have previously visited farms where hog cholera exists. It may also be carried in this way by dogs. and by crows and other birds. It has been claimed, and considerable proof has been brought to show it, that the disease may be carried downstream from herds which are af- fected above It is therefore well to avoid placing hogs so that they will have access to streams which pass through other farms. As diseased hogs are frequently transported by rail, it Is quite possible for infection to be intro- duced into a farm by litter dropped from cars in transit, especially if hogs on the farm have access to the tracks.
 After hog cholera has visited a farm, the lots. hog houses, feeding troughs and implements used for cleaning have naturally become contaminated with the germs of the disease, and if new stock is placed in such yards soon after these were occupied by sick hogs the new hogs are very likely to contract the dis ease, but if such yards are left unoccu- pied the germs will die out after a while Unfortunately, it is not possible to tell with certainty just how long a time Is required for these germs to die out this uncertainty being due to the fact that conditions on different farms vary widely, and also because the weather conditions, which have an important in- fluence upon the vitality of the hog cholera germ, vary from time to time and in different sections of the country.
 THE SIX PRECAUTIONS
 "The following precautions are recom- mended for keeping the contagion from an unnfected drove;
 '1. Do not locate hog let's near a pub lie highway, a railroad or a stream.
 "2 Do not allow strangers or neigh hors to enter your hog lots, and do not go into your neighbours lots. If 1t Is absolutely necessary to pass from one hog lot into another, first clean your shoes carefully and then wash them with a 3 per cent solution of the compound solution of cresol GU. s. P.).
 "S. Do not put new stock either hogs or cattle, in lots with herd already on the farm. Newly purchased hogs should be put in separate enclosures we'll separated from the herd on the farm ] and kept under observation for three weeks, because practically all stock cars, unloading chutes. and pens are infected with hog cholera. and hogs shipped by rail are therefore apt to contract hog cholera.
 "A Hogs sent to fairs should be quar- antned for at least three weeks after they return to the farm.
 '5. If hog cholera breaks out on farm, separate the sick from the ap- parently healthy animals. and burn all carcasses of dead animals on the day of death. Do not leave them unburned for this will endanger all other farmers in the neighborhood. The prevailing prac- ticc of rushing sick herds to market should be discouraged. Treatment with the serum should be tried instead.
 "6. If. after the observance of all pos sible precautions, hog cholera appears on your farm, notify the state veterinarian or state agricultural college and secure serum for the treatment of those not affected. The early application of this serum is essential
 Some of these precautions may seem unnecessary and troublesome. but they do not cost much, and they are very valuable preventive measures