The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-07-12
METHODS USED TO
ERADICATE Bovine
TUBERCULOSIS TOLD
State Veterinarian Relates How
Job Was Accomplished in
North Dakota

North Dakota
a history of the methods used to
prlng about the control and eradica-
Ton OF bovine tuberculosis in North
dakota was given by DR.. w. F. Crewe,
state veterinarian. in an address
tuesday at the 30th annual meeting
OF the North Dakota Veterinary asso-
citation in session here.
DR.. CreWe gave his address in COL
Elaboration with Dr. H. H. Cohenour
of the federal bureau of animal in
dustry. who talked on the bureaus &C
tivities in connection with the eradi-
cation of Bovine tuberculosis and the
cooperation given by the U. S. Bureau
Of Animal Industry.
Other speakers at Tuesday morn
ing's meeting were DR.. H. w. Allen
OF the. state public health department.
and DR.. j. B. Hollenbeck of the bureau
OF animal industry, Columbus, O.. who
talked on swine disease control.
With the tuberculin testing of cat
tie IN eery county of the state COM
pleted, North Dakota becomes the
eighth state to complete it's program
and be added to the modified tubercu-
loslS-free area of the United States.
A total of 2,987,935 tests have been
MADE with 29931 reactors having been
alspcsed of, DR.. Crewe said.
Drew Little Attention
. Under the early conditions little
attention was paid to tuberculosis"
according to DR.. Crewe. LAS the open
range was being eliminated by settle
ment on the land, the ranches became
restricted and they started raising
their own cattle-necessitating the i'm
portation Of breeding stock from east
ern states and also introducing tuber-
Culosis.
THE development of the dairy in
dustry also necessitated the importa-
ton OF breeding stock from eastern
states and that also introduced tuber-
culosis," the veteran veterinarian as
serted.
Covering the 25-year-period during
which the livestock sanitary board
has operated, DR.. Crewe stated that
while, during the earlier part of this
period the laws required that breed
ing and dairying cattle entering the
state must be tuberculin tested and
accompanied by health certificates,
many tuberculous cattle entered
through fraudulent tests and fraudu-
lent health certificates.
In 1911 a law was passed by the leg
1sl2tive assembly providing for the
tuberculin testing of cattle under the
supervision of the state live stock
sanitary board, and also provided for
indemnity on condemned animals.
Subsequent legislation such as the
law adopted in 1913 prohibiting sale
of purebred cattle unless tuberculin
tested and found tuberculosis-free,
the requirement that all purebred
cattle entering the state must enter
under quarantine, arrangements to
have reactors slaughtered under fed
eral inspection. and the appropriation
Of various funds aided greatly in the
campaign against the disease.
SAT- Heads Accredited
Under the accredited herd plan
SAT- herds have been established
comprising 10000 cattle, as accredit-
ed tuberculosis-free herds.
The first county to be accredited
was Forter county. The extension de-
partment became interested in the
work and county agents adopted CO.
operation with the authorities as one
of their projects, DR.. Crewe said.
During 1917 the modified accred-
tied area plan was adopted" said DR..
Crewe. while we had some coopera-
ton from the U. S. Bureau, the work
progressed slowly as we were using
the simultaneous method for testing.
We tested one entire county and a
number of scattered townships.
Prior to the adoption of the in
tradermal test in 1920 we had tubercu-
lin tested $4,000 cattle-36000 being
purebred revealing 1920 reactors. This
was over period of nine years. The
appropriation for this period by the
state for service and indemnity
amounted to about 100000"
Completed in 1882
BY July /, 1882. every county in the
state had been placed on the accred-
tied list. Twenty-seven counties have
been retested and reaccredited, large
ly from county funds.
Under present economic conditions
it is questionable as to whether or not
this campaign will be continued" DR..
Crewe said. with the amount OF
money that has been expended it
would seem to be poor policy to dis
continue this work and permit this
disease to get another foothold.
I'VE appeared before the commit
tee of the U. S. Live Stock Sanitary
association and recommended that the
regulations be so amended as to pro-
vide that in the reaccrediting of a
county the test of all the cattle re-
veals less than two-tenths of one per
cent of tuberculosis then such county
will be reaccredited for a period OF
six years. This amendment passed
and is part of the regulation.
I'VE believe that this provision may
encourage the keeping up of the work
with a complete test every six years
instead of every three years" DR..
Crewe said.