Show contagious ABORTION AMONG CATTLE LEE I 1 ka 1 4 ON PI ta X 61 40 rf T V 04 a U p iz R 11 14 beof cattle grazing in virginia prepared by the lie united states department of agriculture in n eco economic importance contagious abortion in cattle stands next in importance to tuberculosis progress in stain stamping ping out the disease however has not been rapid nor g great reat the disease Is caused by the bacillus abor add an d abortions occur comparatively infrequently from outside injury such as blows horn thrusts falls etc a or r the eating of spoiled teed feed or certain herbs as has been the quite common belief efforts have been made to discover some medicinal agent which would cure the disease and adf attempts emits have also been made to produce a serum but this work Is still in the experimental stage and no reliable rell ablo curative agent has yet been discovered our main a reliance must still be placed upon upon the careful and repeated of premises and of animals together with the separation of healthy from diseased animals or of premises the thorough of at premises Is essential this may be satisfactorily facto rily L by carrying out the following directions 1 sweep ceilings side walls stall partitions floors and other surfaces until free from cobwebs and dust 2 remove all accumulations accumulate ons of filth by scraping and it if woodwork has become decayed porous or absorbent it should be removed burned and replaced with new material 3 it if floor Is of earth remove four inches from the surface and in places where it shows staining with mith urine a sufficient depth should be replaced to expose fresh earth all earth removed all should be replaced with earth from an uncontaminated source or a new floor of concrete may be laid which is very durable and easily cleaned 4 all refuse and material from stable and barnyard should be removed to a place not access accessible ibie to cattle or hogs the manure should be spread on fields and turned under while the wood should be burned 5 6 the entire interior of the stable especially the feeding troughs and di drains rains should be saturated by a disinfectant as liquor cre solis compost tub U S P or carbolic acid six ounces to every gallon of water in each case after this has dried the stalls walls and ceilings may be covered with whit whitewash evash lime wash to each gallon of which should be added four ounces of chloride of lime the best method of applying the disinfectant and the lime wash is by means of a strong spray pump such as those used by this method Is efficient in n against most of the contagious and nd infectious diseases of animals ind and should be applied immediately following any outbreak and as a matter of precaution it may be used once or twice yearly 6 it Is important that arrangements be made to admit a plentiful supply of sunlight and fresh air by providing an mple ample number of windows thereby eliminating dampness stuffiness bad odor dor and other conditions C good od drainage is also very necessary if the use of liquor cre compost car carbolic bolle acid or other coal tar products Is inadmissible because of the readiness with which their odor Is imparted to milk and other dairy products bt chloride of mercury may be ased in prop proportion of one to or one pound of to gallons df f water Ilo however wever all portions of the bitable soiled with manure should first be thoroughly scraped and cleaned as the albumin contained in manure would otherwise greatly diminish the dis infecting disinfecting power of the with this mater material lal should be supervised by a veterinarian or ther aher person trained in the handling if poisonous drugs and chemicals as the of mercury Is a powerful corrosive torro lve sive poison the mangers and eed boxes after drying following spraying with this material should be washed out with hot water as cattle ire especially susceptible to mercurial poisoning the solution should th be applied by means of a spray pump as recommended for the liquor tre compo situs in addition the yards should be cleaned by removing all litter andrii and manure macure and infected disinfected dis by sprinkling liberally with a solution of copper sul out abato five ounces to a gallon of water 1111 milking king stools and all other implements should also be thoroughly dis dig infected and treatment of ani mals mal to prevent the bull from carrying the infection from a diseased cow to a healthy one first clip the tuft ot of long lone hair from the opening of the sheath then disinfect the ianis and sheath with a solution of one half per cent of liquor cre solla solis compo situs lysol eysol or kresol trl tri or 1 per cent creo till or carbolic acid or 1 to 1000 potassium permanganate in warm water the only apparatus necessary Is a soft rubber tube with a large funnel attached to one end or an ordinary fountain syringe and tube would serve th the purpose the tube should bo be inserted d into the sheath and the foreskin held with the hand to prevent tho the immediate escape of the fluid elevate the funnel as high as possible and pour in the fluid until the sack la is filled in addition to this the hair at 0 the belly and inner sides side of the thigh should be sponged with the antiseptic this should invariably labi y precede and follow every service an aborting cow should receive immediate attention and the animal should be removed to separate quarters where she can receive appropriate treatment the fetus membranes and discharges are particularly dangerous and should be gathered up and destroyed immediately by burning or burial in some safe place and this followed by thoroughly infecting disinfecting dis the stall the uterus should be irrigated dally daily with one of the antiser tics bics mentioned for the bull using the same apparatus and irrigation should be continued until discharge ceases in addition the external genitals root of tall escutcheon etc should be sponged dally daily with a solution twice as strong as that used for irrigation and this latter treatment should be given the as well should the preliminary symptoms of 0 abortion be detected the animal should be removed from the herd and treated as aa above after abortion breeding should not again be attempted within two months or until the discharge shall have ceased as the uterus would not be normal and the animal would alth either er not conceive or would abort again in a short time great care should be used in purchasing cattle and cows cowa not known to be free from the disease should be kept in separate quarters until this point is determined if a herd bull Is noi not kept then great care should be exercised to know that the animal used Is free of disease and to see that he be Is property properly treated both before and after service whenever it becomes necessary to separate diseased and healthy animals it Is especially important that different attendants and utensils be provided for the two groups it Is manifestly impossible to go into details within the scope of a short article and it Is therefore suggested that a competent veterinarian be employed to supervise of premises and advise as to the methods of treatment |