TRANSMISSION 
OF 
TUBERCULOSIS 
KUO.M I'll K 
MEAT AND MILK 
OK 
Infected Animals. 
BY 
NOAH CRESS')'. M.D., V.S., Pit D., 
nlKRi.Y State Veterinary Surgeon, Profksror of Veterinary 
Science, M \«s. Agricultural College, and Lectcrnr-mr 
Vn'KRIN VliV Ml 1 >l< INE IN T1IE 1'MVI.It'jlTV 
of Vermont. 
HARTFORD, CONN. 
From the Third Anneal Report of State Hoard of Health. 
HARTFORD, CONN.: 
Pit ess of Tiif. Cask, Lockwood & Bkainard Co. 
1881. TRANSMISSION 
OF 
TUBERCULOSIS 
FROM THE 
MEAT AND MILK OF INFECTED ANIMALS. 
BY 
NOAH CRESSY, M.D., Y.S., Ph D., 
Hartford, Conn. TRANSMISSION OF TUBERCULOSIS 
FROM THE MEAT AND MILK OF INFECTED ANIMALS. 
By NOAH CRESSY, M.D., V S., Ph.D. 
Nowhere in the struggle of life, against the manifold causes of 
disease, do we more effectually imperil our health and happiness 
than in partaking of animal food of a suspicious character. Hence 
the relation of man to the lower orders of animals, which has 
caused so much speculation among philosophers and naturalists on 
certain zoological affinities, is equally interesting and instructive 
in a pathological point of view. The skeletal framework and in- 
ternal organization of the higher mammalia are not only mor- 
phologically indentical with the structure of man, and thus 
subserve the same purpose in animal economy; but the blood is 
similar in chemical composition, contains the same anatomical 
elements, and is subject to analogous changes in disease; hence 
the liability of transmitting to the human subject some virulent 
blood-poison, through the medium of our animal sustenance. 
The highest achievement therefore in medical science is the 
requisite knowledge to point out such causes, rather than vaguely 
search the materia medica for a cure; and there is no theme 
connected with tho science of dietetics more worthy of our daily 
consideration than the sanitary condition of the meat and milk 
that we consume. Though many inquiries have been made in this 
direction, and valuable conclusions reached, yet in this broad field, 
for scientific research, the accomplished laborers to day are few. 
But the hour has come when the sanitarian and physician, in re- 
sponse to a public demand, must join hands with the veterinary 
profession to explore certain realms in the causation of disease, 
and thus more accurately survey those boundary lines in pathology 
which now seem to separate the human maladies from those of 
our food-producing animals. 
Consequently, there is no subject of more importance to the pub- 4 
lie health, or better calculated to enhance the cause of sanitary 
science, than the practical study of this diseased meat question. 
The very doubtful condition of some of our home supplies 
already indicates the solution of certain vexed questions on the 
possible transmission of tuberculosis, which has long been a stum- 
.bling-block to the medical practitioner. The investigation of this 
subject therefore, in all its varied relations, is a work of vast im- 
portance, and one which the age now urgently demands in behalf 
of human welfare. 
Hence it will require, for the achievement of these necessary 
results, not only the united efforts of professional and scientific 
men, but the influence of the public press, and the sanction of 
our state authorities. Then may we hope to see a thorough sys- 
tem of veterinary inspection established in this country that shall 
have full control of the public markets, and thus examine all sus- 
picious animals before they are allowed to be slaughtered. 
INFECTIOUS QUALITIES DEFINED. 
The extent to which the different kinds of diseased meat are 
liable to be used, will depend in a great measure upon t’ne compara- 
tive frequency that these infectious maladies occur in a given local- 
ity, and the more insidious the nature of the disease -the greater 
the liability of its transmission from animals being slaughtered, 
that are more or less affected. Hence a brief allusion to the more 
common forms of infected meat, with a review of some of the 
pathological conditions involved, will best serve our present pur- 
pose, and possibly throw a gleam of sanitary light on this much 
neglected subject. 
All meat, therefore, from whatever source or condition of ani- 
mal it may come, that would cause sickness, disease, or death in 
man if partaken as food, must be regarded in the light of sanitary 
science as diseased, and consequently unfit for human use in any 
form. Accordingly, an article of meat possessing such qualities, 
must come from an animal afflicted with some form of an in- 
fectious malady, the germs of which are contained in the flesh, and 
are liable to be transmitted. 
Hence a disease in which a contagious virus is developed during 
its course, or a virulent principle generated in the blood, renders 
the meat from all animals thus affected exceedingly dangerous as 
an article of food. But meat is not materially affected by the en- 
tozoic maladies of animals, unless the parasite in some stage of its 5 
existence makes its abode in the flesh and has not been destroyed by 
cooking. 
In accordance with this definition there are but few diseases 
that absolutely render these animal supplies perilous to human 
happiness. Prominent among these may be mentioned malignant 
anthrax, hydrophobia, tuberculosis, small-pox, and two parasitic 
affections caused by the trichina spiralis, and the measle tape 
worms. But the other maladies from which our slaughtered ani- 
mals are liable to have suffered, may greatly impoverish the nutri- 
tive quality of the meat, and thus render it unpleasant in taste and 
general appearance; yet, if the flesh contains no animal poison or 
other morbid products, no harm can possibly come from its use 
when served upon our table. And even a diseased article, when 
thoroughly cooked, may not prove injurious to one whose digestive 
powers are active. 
It is not an easy matter, therefore, in all cases to decide whether 
meat is possessed of injurious qualities or not, without a careful 
inquiry into the history of the article, or a microscopic inspection. 
Trichinous pork is an example of this kind; and of the many fatal 
cases on record, none of the victims ever suspected the meat until 
a peculiar form of sickness made its appearance, involving a num- 
ber of individuals who were known to have partaken of the same. 
This is also true of black-leg veal many times, and of other fine- 
looking specimens of meat that are affected with anthrax poison, 
which is liable to be transmitted. 
Many varieties of diseased meat, however, are so palpable that 
even by the dexterity of the butcher’s art it is impossible to dis- 
guise them. The tuberculous deposits upon the pleural mem- 
brane lining the chest cavity, thus causing the lungs to adhere to 
the ribs, or along the internal walls of the abdomen, are sufficient 
evidence to condemn the carcass. Measly pork and beef are also 
easily detected by the unaided eye; but the parasitic contamina- 
tion of such meat is often overlooked, and consequently there is 
always an opportunity for a tape worm to become initiated in all 
who may partake of it. 
As this disease is comparatively new to the veterinary profession, 
its clinical history and pathology has not received that attention 
which the subject now demands. In fact, few are aware to-day of the 
extent to which this insidious malady prevails, but the rapid strides 
TUBERCULOSIS INFECTIOUS. 6 
which it has made and the hold it has already gained on our stock, 
observes a well-known veterinary author, renders it one of the 
most important questions affecting the well-being of the bovine 
species.* 
The contagious nature of tuberculosis, as shown by recent 
experiments on animals, can no longer be doubted, and it is now 
conceded by comparative pathologists that the bovine form of this 
disease is identical with that of man. Consequently there is great 
liability of its transmission, either by inoculation or ingestion. In 
fact, it has repeatedly been produced in rabbits, Guinea-pigs, and 
calves by feeding them with tuberculous matter. Prof. Ger- 
lack of the Berlin Veterinary School claims, f as the result of his 
researches, that this disease in cattle is very infectious, that the 
presence of a specific virus is evident, and that even the flesh of 
such diseased anirpals under certain circumstances, and also the 
milk, possesses infective properties, though to a less degree than 
■the cheesy matter from the lungs. 
That tuberculosis is now rapidly on the increase no well-informed 
veterinarian can deny. It ranks among the few great scourges of 
the land; and though our losses, thus far, in live stock property 
have been largely due to other plagues which sweep their vic- 
tims off in a summary manner, yet the ravages of this disease 
can only be realized, says Prof. Walley, J when we take into 
account the vast deterioration, the slow but certain decimation of 
many of our best herds, the destruction of our animal supplies, 
and also the danger to human life which can no longer be con- 
sidered chimerical. Still there are many who from want of 
knowledge on the subject may even despise the pathological signifi- 
cance of this fell destroyer and thus ignore its deadly meaning; 
but when we see thousands of these tubercular deposits in a ‘single 
slaughtered animal, we are forced to conclude that the use of such 
meat can in no way promote our healthfulness. Thus we have in 
every form of tubercle an implacable and destructive foe, and, in 
fact, there is no other morbid product known that is so protean in 
the number of functional derangements to which it may give rise 
in the animal economy. 
♦The Four Bovine Scourges, with an Appendix on the Inspection of Meat, etc., by 
Thomas Walley, M. C. R. V. S., Principal of the Edinburg Royal Veterinary College, 
tThe Veterinarian, London, March Number, 1875. 
X Op. Cit, page 143. 7 
HEREDITARY TRANSMISSION. 
There is evidently a strong pre-disposition in neat stock for the 
production of tuberculosis, and cattle are far more frequently 
affected than other domestic animals. The temperament and 
physical confirmation undoubtedly contribute much to its develop- 
ment; for animals of a phlegmatic type, with an attenuated form, 
long limbs, and narrow chests are usually the first victims of the 
malady. Breeders should therefore strive to avoid the possibility 
of transmitting such diseased qualities. It is more frequent in 
cows than in oxen, and especially those kept in dairies for a length 
of time. Hence lactation is believed to be a predisposing cause. 
The condition also in which animals are kept is no small factor. 
The cold, damp sheds, the dark, underground stables, and other 
ill-ventilated abodes, as well as the character of the food, all con- 
spire to rekindle those constitutional taints into morbid activity. 
If we inquire further into the causes of the increased suscepti- 
bility to the infection, as seen more especially in our thorough-bred 
stock, we shall find that heredity and multiplied consanguinity 
play no menial part. Any physical weakness which the sire or 
dam may possess is liable to be transmitted to the immediate 
progeny, but if one generation escapes, the trouble may appear in 
the next, in accordance with the well-established principle of 
atavism. Diseased conditions are also inherited; and I believe 
that there is no predisposing cause which exercises such a potent 
influence in the production of tuberculosis as the pernicious system 
of in-and-in breeding. Tlius from parent to offspring, from one 
generation to another, we often see the fatal tendency transmitted 
in unbroken succession, and the more complicated the relationship 
becomes, the greater is the virulence of the resulting products. 
In spite, therefore, of the many palpable examples of this broken 
law, some breeders still pursue, year by year, the suicidal policy of 
clinging to one strain, regardless of the impending consequences. 
Hence this insidious and malignant malady, soon to be recog- 
nized as the dreaded scourge of our land, is now being disseminated 
in every direction through the consanguineous infection of our 
thorough-bred stock. And Prof. James Law, F. R. C. V. S., of 
Cornell University, in alluding to this subject, says, “That the 
esteemed qualities have been preserved, strengthened, and increased 
in this way there can be no doubt, but there can be just as little 
doubt that any inherited weakness or disease has been often trans- 8 
mitted and even intensified. I could mention particular families 
in our highest-priced breeds in which tuberculosis has become a 
fixed character;” and further on he observes that “excessive 
weakness and stupidity of the young is another common result of 
in-breeding.” * 
CONTAGIOUS BY CONTACT. 
The observations of Dr. Grad, veterinary surgeon at Was- 
selonne, Alsace, on the spread of this disease by contaminated 
stalls, are very conclusive. On different occasions owners had 
informed him that they had lost several animals from consumption 
in the same stall. At first he did not attach much importance to 
the matter, but one day, when visiting the stables of an extensive 
farmer in Leinheim, he was informed that annually for the last 
five years one of the cattle had died of tuberculosis in a certain 
stall. The last one he had the opportunity of examining, which 
had been there but ten months, but had all the symptoms of the 
malady, greatly emaciated, and troubled with a cough. Dr. 
Grad’s attention was strongly aroused at such a state of things, 
and to test the matter scientifically he was allowed to select an 
animal for an experiment. Accordingly he chose from another 
stable,a three-year-old heifer, in calf, that was to all appearances 
perfectly healthy. She was bred on the farm, had never been 
unwell, never coughed, and none of her progenitors had, ever been 
affected with phthisis. The cow remained quite well until after 
calving, when a slight cough appeared; but it increased in fre- 
quency, emaciation gradually set in, with all of the symptoms of 
tuberculosis, and in twelve months the creature was a mere shadow 
of her former self. The evidence therefore in support of this 
mode of infection Grad could no longer resist, as this was the sixth 
case that had occurred in this stall. Hence he very naturally 
inferred that the disease was probably transmitted by the ingestion 
of tuberculous matter expectorated by the cattle which had pre- 
viously occupied the place. 
The extension of the malady by cohabitation is therefore always 
liable to occur when animals are so arranged in the stable that the 
sick and healthy ones can get their heads together, or feed from 
the same manger. The hay may thus become contaminated, and 
the infection takes place through the digestive organs. The 
expired air also is not unfrequently so laden with virulent matter, 
* Report of Am. Public Health Association, New York, 1875, vol. 2, page 250. 9 
especially in the advanced stages, that it is not safe for another 
animal to inhale it. This mode of transmission, which was first 
suggested by Dr. Morgagni,* more than a hundred years ago, and 
has found many advocates among physicians and veterinarians, 
has now been confirmed by the experiments of Dr. Tappeiner of 
Meran, in causing animals to inhale the fine particles of tubercular 
matter from the air of a room in which the virus had been evapo- 
rated by a steam atomizer. Out of eleven puppies experimented 
on, ten showed well-marked miliary tubercle in both lungs on 
being killed within twenty-five to forty days—thus proving that 
this disease is contagious by the breath. 
villemin’s investigations. 
In 1865 Prof. Villemin of the Val-de-grace Hospital, Paris, 
having conceived that human consumption in certain cases might 
be due to a specific virus introduced into the system, resorted to a 
series of experiments on animals to test the question. He was 
the first to demonstrate the contagiousness of tuberculosis by 
inoculation. Rabbits and Guinea-pigs were selected, and the mate- 
rial employed was from the human lung. Inoculations were made 
in various parts of the body, but the results were uniform and of a 
serious character. Many of the creatures died, others, lingering 
in a depressed state, were killed, when well-marked tubercular 
deposits were found in all, especially in the lungs, and with more 
or less infiltrations in the other organs, thus showing that the 
disease had been transmitted. 
These results, which gave him so much renown as a pathologist, 
led him to experiment with tubercular matter from other animals. 
Desirous, therefore, of testing the nature of the disease in cattle, 
he inoculated a rabbit with matter from a cow. The animal 
became emaciated, and in six weeks was destroyed. Its lungs 
were filled with hard, tubercular masses, and some of them had 
taken on a cheesy aspect in the center. The other organs of the 
body were affected in a similar manner as those in the previous 
experiments. Hence he concludes that bovine phthisis is identical 
with that of man. 
Dr. Villemin has likewise demonstrated that the tuberculous 
matter produced artificially by inoculation possesses the same 
power of transmissibility as when the malady arises spontaneously, 
•See Fleming's able memoir on the history of these investigations in the 48th and 49th 
Vols. of The Veterinarian. 10 
—thus proving conclusively that in tubercle resides a special, elabo- 
rated virus which does not lose its identity by several removes, no 
more than small-pox. 
This view of the subject is corroborated by the pathological 
researches of Dr. Lionel Beale of London, the celebrated micro- 
scopist, who declares that tubercle is a minute particle of living 
matter, and if inoculated under favorable circumstances it is almost 
sure to grow, multiply, and produce other morbid cells like that 
from which it was derived. And furthermore, Villemin has 
always considered tuberculosis a specific malady, for he found that 
a very small wound and an inconsiderable quantity of matter used 
was a manifest proof that the intensity of the disease is independ- 
ent of the quantity of the matter inoculated, and that the number 
and extent of the internal lesions have no relations to those at the 
seat of puncture. A disease, therefore, that can be transmitted 
from one animal to another by inoculation and thus an identical 
virus reproduced is, strictly speaking, contagious. 
CHAUVEAU’S EXPERIMENTS. 
Farther and more convincing proof of the transmission of bov- 
ine tuberculosis has been furnished by Prof. Chauveau, of the 
Lyons V eterinary School, who for years has been experimentally 
studying the intimate pathology of the various contagia. The 
success of his researches has afforded some startling results per- 
taining to the use of diseased meat. The discovery, also, that 
certain rich virulent matter can infect as readily through the di- 
gestive organs as by any other channel has given him a world- 
wide reputation ; and his well-designed experiments on cattle, 
which he instituted in 1868, have settled for ever among compara- 
tive pathologists the question of the virulency of tuberculosis. 
He purchased four calves the 18th of September, from a locality 
where this disease was unknown, which, upon rigid examination, 
were found to be in fine, healthy condition. The next day he ad- 
ministered an ounce of tubercular matter from an old cow’s lung, 
including the hard and soft varieties, prepared in the form of a 
drench and given in divided doses. The first one, a year old, be- 
gan to lose condition in about a fortnight, the respirations were 
quickened, though the appetite remained unimpaired. On the 5th 
of October he gave this calf another dose, but of different and 
more recent matter, and within a week the symptoms of tubercu- 
losis were apparent. Emaciation proceeded rapidly, the coat be. 11 
came rough and staring, and the animal had occasional fits of 
coughing, especially after drinking. 
The second calf, six months old, had on the fourth day a pro- 
fuse and fetid diarrhoea, hut of short duration, and the animal re- 
mained apparently healthy for three weeks. But the characteristic 
symptoms, as in the other case, soon appeared, with enlargement 
of the glands about the throat. The third one of the same age, 
having shown no signs of disease, was drenched again October 
9th with another kind of matter, but this calf longest resisted the 
action of the virus, and not until the 25th was there any apprecia- 
ble derangement of health ; but from that time, however, the 
phenomena of tubercular infection ensued with amazing rapidity, 
and in a week the calf could scarcely be recognized. 
At the close of the experiments, November 10th, the miserable 
aspect of the three infected creatures, when contrasted with the 
thriving condition of the fourth, left no doubt in the mind of 
even the casual observer as to the changes that had taken place. 
The post-mortem examinations revealed a perfect generalized form 
of tuberculosis, with the local lesion of the bowels, tabes viesenter- 
ica, shown in a marked degree, some of the glands being as large 
as a man’s fist. The morbid deposits in the chest cavity, also, 
were none the less remarkable. The lungs were studded with 
crude tubercles, some forty in number, varying in size from a pea 
to a filbert. The bronchial glands were also involved, but the 
liver, spleen, and kidneys were not affected. 
Thus, in the space of fifty-two days, we have three typical exam- 
ples, nearly uniform in appearance, of the artificial production of 
this malignant malady through the digestive organs. In presence 
of these facts, therefore, I trust that all inquirers after the truth 
of this matter will be forced to conclude with our illustrious 
pathologist that the virulence and contagious properties of tuber- 
culosis are now demonstrated beyond a doubt. And the fact that 
bovine animals have contracted this disease through the agency of 
the feed gives us an additional source of danger, for creatures con- 
fined in the same stable or pasture, and drinking from the same 
ponds or troughs, are constantly liable to swallow some of this 
virus in the mucous discharges from the nostrils of their affected 
comrades. In fact it is never safe to put another animal in the 
same stall where one has sickened and died of this complaint 
without thoroughly renovating the apartment. Nor would I allow 
an affected creature to mingle with the healthy stock about the 
yard. 12 
DANGERS OF DISEASED MEAT. 
The meat from cattle affected with tuberculosis is not unfre- 
quently seen in American markets, especially in our larger cities, 
and even in country towns. Yet, owing to the lack of public 
appreciation of any sanitary police measures to control such traffic, 
little or no complaint is made when we are served with consump- 
tive beef. Seven years ago, after repeated opportunities for obser- 
vation on this subject, I called public attention to the prevalence 
of this malignant malady among our dairy stock, that I believed 
was not generally recognized; and I now affirm with renewed 
assurance, in a pathological point of view, that the baneful con 
sequences to our health from the use of infected meat and 
milk are not surpassed in the whole catalogue of contagious 
affections. 
Such infected meat, therefore, should not be used; for any 
organ or texture in which tubercle has been deposited, is surely a 
dangerous article of food. Much will depend, however, upon the 
severity of the case and extent of the morbid changes that have 
taken place. Thus, from what is known in relation 'to the path- 
ology of this virulent malady, we should at once interdict the sale 
of consumptive beef and milk, especially in the advanced stages 
of the disease, when the glandular tissues have become involved. 
The relation of bovine tuberculosis to public hygiene was prob- 
ably first suggested by Prof. Chauveau, who thirteen years ago 
had .already indicated the real source of danger from the use of 
consumptive beef and milk. But no one has done more to pro- 
mulgate these investigations, or has contributed more to the 
advancement of sanitary science in this direction, than George 
Fleming, F. R. C. V. S., Veterinary Inspector to the British army, 
and the accomplished editor of the London Veterinary Journal, 
who, by his encyclopaedic writings, is an acknowledged authority 
on the subject. Thus, in a recent editorial, he says, “ That the 
tuberculosis of cattle is a transmissible disease, and can be conveyed 
not only to animals of the same but also to those of other species 
in various ways, is now an established fact, upon the recognition of 
which we have for many years insisted; and, since we first called 
attention to it, some of the best pathologists in Europe have 
furnished additional testimony as to the readiness with which this 
transmission takes place, not only by inoculation or ingestion, but 
also, it would appear, by cohabitation of diseased with healthy 
animals.* 
* Veterinary Journal, December, 1879. 13 
Two years ago Prof. Colin of the Albert Veterinary College, 
contributed a series of observations on the communicability of 
tuberculosis, which were very conclusive, and threw a flood of 
light on this important sanitary question in relation to diseased 
meat. Several prominent German and Italian authorities have 
also published their clinical experience in this direction; and lastly 
we have the celebrated Professor Orth of Gottingen, furnishing 
the results of his researches and experiments. All of these are 
only confirmatory, however, of what has now been stated, but this 
confirmation is not without its value, especially in this emergency, 
when public opinion needs educating on the sanitary conditions of 
our meat supplies. 
In his experiments, fifteen animals were fed with tuberculous 
matter from a diseased cow, and nine of those were infected, of 
which four died. The remaining five, becoming extremely emaci- 
ated, were killed. On examination nearly all the organs of the 
body were found involved in tuberculosis. In all the lungs were 
affected, but the serous and mucous membranes, the lymphatic 
glands, the liver, spleen, kidneys, and omentum were infected in 
different degrees. Consequently, the transmissibility of this 
affection to animals being proved, he insists that its transmission 
to man is possible, and has undoubtedly many times taken place. 
TUBERCULOUS MILK. 
The recent investigations of Prof. Otto Bollinger of the Uni- 
versity of Munich, on the artificial production of tuberculosis as 
induced by the consumption of diseased milk, has thrown addi- 
tional light on the subject. He claims that the milk of such 
animals has a pre-eminently contagious influence, and reproduces 
the disease in other animals experimented on from that point of 
view. He believes also that such milk, even when boiled, still 
retains its injurious properties. Further, he maintains that beyond 
doubt the tuberculosis of the human subject, though not com- 
pletely identical with that of the cow, is yet strictly analogous to it, 
and that consequently the wide prevalence of tuberculosis in the 
native herds, at least 5 per cent, of which are affected, is a stand- 
ing danger to health of the community. 
Seeing the enormous mortality from consumption, more especi- 
ally in towns, Prof. Bollinger believes it to be of the utmost 
importance to urge upon all classes, and particularly upon farmers, 
the absolute necessity of taking every possible means of stamping 14 
out the disease among cattle. Meanwhile some measure of safety 
may be secured by the rigid exclusion of all diseased stock from 
town dairies, a measure which forms a prominent feature in the 
programme of the recently-established Associated Dairy at Munich, 
where all the cows are constantly kept under skilled veterinary 
surveillance, and any that may exhibit the least symptom of 
tuberculosis are at once weeded out.* 
There is every reason, therefore, says Fleming, to prohibit the use 
of milk from cows affected with tuberculosis, and especially for 
infants, who mainly rely upon this fluid for their sustenance, and 
whose powers of absorption are very active. Even if it did not 
possess infective properties, its deficiency in nitrogenous elements, 
fat and sugar, and the increased proportion of earthy salts, would 
alone render it an objectionable article of diet. In fact, it has 
long been known that it was liable to produce diarrhea and 
debility in infants; but though many children fed on such milk 
have died from tuberculosis or a localized type of it in the bowels 
known as Tabes mesenterica, the part probably played by this liquid 
in its production has rarely been suspected. 
He further observes, also, that, as the commencement of phthisis 
is generally so insidious in the human species, it is most difficult to 
arrive with any degree of certainty at the causes which directly 
induce or favor its development; but, from the evidence before us, 
it is to be feared that at least one of its sources must be referred 
to the utilization of the carcass, but more especially of the milk, of 
phthisical cattle as food. It is certain that tuberculosis is not 
uncommon and that it is a destructive disease among dairy cattle 
especially, and more particularly those in towns; that the udder of 
these animals is one of the glands not unfrequently involved; that 
infants and adults consume milk in somewhat large quantities,— 
and that phthisis is a very prevalent and fatal malady in the 
human species, and chiefly among the dwellers in towns and 
cities. | 
Dr. Bromley of Lancaster, England, found characteristic tuber- 
cular lesion in the pulmonary organs of two pigs, which had been 
fed with milk of a consuniptive cow ; while the mother of the 
pigs, on being slaughtered, exhibited no signs of the disease. And 
therefore the pigs could not have contracted it by any hereditary 
influence, but the morbid virus was taken in with the milk. 
* Veterinary Journal, February, 1880. 
t From The Veterinarian,\o\. 48, p. 202. 17 
Hence tne necessity of guarding ourselves against such a diseased 
article of food. 
Prof. Gerlach, Dr. Toussaint, and many other veterinary patholo- 
gists, have now demonstrated, by hundreds of positive experiments, 
that this milk is infectious, and contains a specific virus that can be 
transmitted from one species of animal to another, and from animal 
to man,* thus proving the identity of this dreaded bovine malady 
with that in the human subject. 
SANITARY REGULATIONS. 
'Hie increase and sudden invasions of disease among our stock 
of late years should awaken new zeal in every farmer, and ad- 
monish the whole people of the necessity of having a vigilant 
inspector in every State, and authorized to act in every emergency. 
His decision, as a pathologist, should be final under all existing 
circumstances. The public must first be served. Its demands are 
absolute, and in the well-being of the greatest number the rights 
of individuals should never interfere. The want of such a sani- 
tary organization has cost this country thousands of dollars on 
various occasions; and so long as our coast is allowed to remain 
exposed to the commerce of the world, without a veterinary sur- 
geon at every port, it is purely a matter of chance whether or not 
we suffer from the malignant diseases of other lands. 
Great Britain, after severe and repeated losses of her blooded 
stock, has seen the necessity of the adoption of such a sanitary 
measure for home protection. She has accordingly appointed pro- 
fessional inspectors at all the principal commercial points in her 
vast domain; and very recently, several important stations for 
pathological observations have been created by the British govern- 
ment. This was a noble move, and in the right direction ; and we 
hope that other nations will follow her illustrious example in 
behalf of sanitary science. In fact, we need such encourage- 
ment everywhere. The general government should at once inau- 
gurate and maintain similar positions in this country. 
But we need not search in foreign lands to find a field for veter- 
inary work that is unexplored. We have in the very midst of us 
* The fact, as shown by Fox and others recently, that but 25 per cent, of the cases of 
consumption in man are due to hereditary transmission, while the other 75 per cent, are 
caused by unsanitary influences, gives increased interest and importance to all other 
methods by which tuberculosis may be caused. The origin of more or less of this large 
percentage is doubtless due to infection from milk or meat.—C. W. C. 18 
a malignant disease among the cattle that is publicly almost un- 
known ; and I fear that but few are aware of the increasing 
prevalence of tuberculosis in our milch cows. The nature of this 
malady is not well understood by the farmer, nor very much 
feared, though practically known as consumption. The cow that 
coughs, grows poor by degrees, even on the best feed, and at last 
fails in her milk, is frequently turned over to the butcher as the 
last resort. It is rare that an animal in this country is financially 
lost from this complaint. Some meat-vender will pick up these 
creatures at any stage of the disease for slaughter, and thus send 
the flesh to market; and as cheap lean meat is always in demand 
among the poorer classes, it is readily disposed of without com- 
plaint, whatever may be the ultimate effect of such a diet. 
In fact, the traffic in diseased animals has now become so exten- 
sive that the State ought to control this matter by more active 
legislation. The public health has become involved, and the im- 
portance of a veterinary inspector, to thus protect our lives 
and health against the invasion of disease from this source can 
no longer be questioned. My attention has been called to this 
subject many times within the last few years, and recently even 
beyond the borders of this State. Hence, I have felt it my duty 
to thus publicly warn our people against the baneful practice of 
consuming the meat and milk of tuberculous animals. 
The wide prevalence of this disease among our native herds 
and thoroughbred stock calls for immediate sanitary regulations 
throughout the country. Our infant population, and even adults, 
who are already rendered more or less infirm by their unhealthy 
surroundings and neglect of domestic hygiene, are now rapidly 
falling victims to this infectious malady, especially in our larger 
cities, as statistics show. Hence, in a moral point of view, this 
extensive invalid class should be protected. The subject, therefore, 
now demands the vigilant attention of our public authorities and 
of every sanitarian in the land. 
In the absence of statistics, it will be impossible at the present 
time to estimate with any degree of accuracy the enormous extent 
to which this disease prevails among our dairy stock. But, if our 
calculations can be based upon the inspectors’ reports in Italy, 
Bavaria, and other German states, we must conclude that five per 
cent, at least of our bovine animals are now affected, and with 
every facility for its rapid increase. Prof. Law, from his extensive 
observations, claims that in certain districts thirty per cent, of the 19 
cattle suffer from tuberculosis, and with many high-priced herds 
this scourge yearly claims its victims. 
In fact, Prof. Gerlach, in his experimental researches, was 
obliged to utterly discard certain strains of thoroughbred swine on 
account of the astonishing frequency of this disease among them. 
The sanitary supervision of this affection, therefore, will call for 
candid consideration and the deliberation of our most enlightened 
minds and professional experts, to devise and enforce such measures 
as will protect our tables, control this traffic, and stamp out the 
disease.