Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-11
New Controls
To Be Asked on
Milk Sold Here
Proposal Aims
At Cutting Incidence
Of Bong's Disease
By james BirchfieId

By james BirchfieId
The District Health Depart
ment will ask the Commissioners
for additional restrictions on
milk sold in the Nations Capital.
The department, The Star
learned today, will ask the Com
missionerS to permit only milk
from herds certified as free Of
Bangs disease to be sold on the
District market.
Bangs disease. or brucellosis
in cattle, causes undulant fever
in man. There is no danger Of
infection, however. from the use
Of Pasteurized milk.
Health officials explained that
the new restrictions will not be-
come effective at once. but will
require several years to achieve.
Under the plan to raise still
further the quality of milk Of
fered for sale to Washington
consumers, the department said
two programs will be followed.
July 1 Deadline.
The department said the COM
missioners will be asked to re-
quire all milk producers selling
on the Washington market to
enter what is known as "Plan
B" by next July /. What is
known as Plan A" would be-
come effective on January 1.
1855, and would lead to the GER
LITIGATION as Bangs free of all
herds supplying the city three
years later.
Plan B, according to health
officials, requires that all cows
in herds be blood tested for
Bangs disease, and that reac-
tors be retained in herds until
replaced by disease-free animals.
The plan also calls for the vacci-
nation of all calves against
brucellosis. When reactors are
replaced they are certified for
slaughter.
Plan A, the stricter plan and
the one leading to herd certif1-
cation. requires that all herds
be blood tested and that all re-
actors be slaughtered immedi-
ately. This plan also requires
calf vaccination.
Producers Approve.
Health officials said the Mary
land and Virginia Milk Pro-
ducers Association, the milk pro-
Queer cooperative that supplies
80 per cent of the milk on the
Washington market. has ap-
proved the new restrictions.
Association representatives
said most Of the herds now sup
plying milk to Washington are
free of Bangs disease, and that
the restrictions would create few
hardship cases.
1t was suggested in other
quarters. however, that the pro-
gram may be especially attrac-
tive at this time because of the
problem of milk SURPRISES on the
Washington market.
The program is sure to reduce
COW numbers in some herds. The
ultimate end, however, will be
to increase milk supply, since
Bangs disease lowers herd pro-
duction.
1t also was pointed out that
some surplus milk now is being
sold in North Carolina, a State
which requires fluid milk to come
from Bang'S-free herd. Herd
certiflcation may be necessary
to hold this market.
Other Prohibitions.
Health Department officials
said other markets also are
banning milk from infected
herds. Both Richmond and
Norfolk have restrictions on milk
from infected herds, and Balti-
more is considering a similar
program, it was stated.
Health Department officials
admitted that the menace from
Bang's-infected cattle is greater
on the farm than in the District.
The disease may be contracted
by farm workers or by farm fam
lilies who drink un-Pasteurized
milk.
Health officials said no "raw."
or un-pasteurized milk, has been
sold in Washington for four or
five years. In the early 1905,
they said, regulations requiring
raw milk to come from herds
certified as Bang's-free were
passed by the Commissioners.
They said amendments to
regulations in 1850 required that
all farmers selling milk in WASH
lngton must follow one of four
plans approved by the Agricul-
ture Department for the eradi-
cation of brucellosiS.
In both Maryland and Vir-
ginia the Livestock Sanitary
Service and the State Agricul-
ture Department long have adj
YncafRd restrictions