The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1922-05-04
NILK AND TUBERCULOSIS.
$4,000 Died From tuberculosis Last
lear.

Out in Edgar county, Illinois, q
farmer had his herd of cattle tested
for tuberculosis. One COW reacted.
Now, the farmer thought he knew
r,ore about the value OF tuberculin
tests than tie state inspector. He
thereupor removed the ear tag from
his infected COW and, with much SEEM
ing generosity, presented her to his
hiret man for wages.
There were ceven children in the
hired mans family, his wife, pig and
Q cat. All save two Of the children,
the farmer and his wife, drank milk
from the tuberculosis COW. The five
children, the pig and the cat have
all contracted the disease. This SEEM
ingly generous farmer has thereby
been responsible for introducing into
:. poor family this disease. He may
even be the indirect cause of re-
sultiag death and be liable to the
charge of me- mcnslaughter. So much
for that one particular case.
Bovine tuberculosis can be trans
nlitted from cows to human beings.
The milk from tuberculosis cows fire.
quently carries the germs of tubercu-
losis. Since children are the ones
who drink the milk, bovine tubercu-
losis is found more amcnG them than
among adults. Moller, for example,
said that among 2,04S adults with tu-
berculosis only per cent. were OF
the bovine type, mostly of the alb
domen and glands. Only half Of one
percent of Ill bovine tuberculosis is
of the lungs. However, 1S per cent.
of q group of children who died Of
tuberculosis were found to have been
infected with the bovine bacillus.
Probably 8 per cent. of all the tuber-
culosis deaths are due to bovine dis
ease.
Under years of age bovine bacilli
are supposed to be responsible for 81
ler cent. of tuberculosis of glands, So
per cent. of abdominal tuberculosis,
66 per cent. of generslized tubercu-
losis and tuberculosis OF the bones
and Joints. One authority says that
80 per cent. of the glandular form in
Edinburgh is of bovine origin. More
over, in the case of both cows and
humans the disease does not always
manifest itself where the germs get
in. Otherwise all bovine tuberculosis
would be likely to be in the digestive
tracs. Children who drink the milk
of tuberculosis cows may have no
trouble there, but may show the dis
ease in remote parts of the body, as
in the knees, the hip, the spine and
the lungs. Although children do not
always die from bovine tuberculosis,
if they recover they are likely to be
either disfgured or crippled.
The cow is an snimal we ordinarily
consider friendly and harmless. Yet
a COW sick with tuberculosis may be
more dangerous in community than
a roaring lion. 1t has been estimat-
ed that in New York state z per
cent. of the cows arc tuberculosis;
of those slaughtered in London it is
estimated that 25 per cent. are. In
order to avoid the very serious danger
to man of tuberculosis in cattle care
full inspection of all dairies is neces-
sary. There shoul6 be inspection also
of all those who work about cows
and in dairies, both in order that
germs may not get into the milk
after it leaves the COW and that the
healthy COWS may not become infect
ed. Most cities have such regulations
for the examination of the milk sup
ply, and utr1cst care should be taken
in The enforcing of these.
Milk that comes to big cities often
travels a great distance. 1t is some
times "a hours old when delivered at
the door. Milk that is old or has
been allowed to be warm in transit