PLEURO-PNEUMONIA AND CANADIAN CATTLE
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1267 PLEURO-PNEUMONIA AND CANADIAN CATTLE. unoccupied during the year, and Lord Cranbrook regretted that insufficient pecuniary support has so gravely curtailed the good work of the infirmary. Earl Stanhope-having testified to the invaluable assistance that such a charity had been, and must be, for the poor and ill nourished, who were especially liable to the ravages of the disease, while precluded by their circumstances from obtaining the treatment by sea air and water, which in such conditions would sometimes act as a specific-moved a resolution deploring the position of the infirmary and pledging the meeting to pecuniary aid. Mr. J. Whitaker Hulke, in seconding the motion, referred briefly to the inimical action that the bright climate of Margate un- doubtedly exercised upon the tuberculous parasite. Mr. W. K. Treves also testified to the practical nature of the benefits conferred upon the patients at the infirmary. ColonelHaygarth made a proposal, in the shape of a formal motion, that the public be invited to assist in raising the funds necessary to open the full number of beds. This was seconded by Dr. Russell Reynolds, and supported by Sir William Broadbent. We hope that the movement thus auspiciously inaugurated under the Presidents of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Surgeons of England will bear ample fruit, and that the Royal Sea-Bathing Infirmary will promptly be placed by a generous public in a position to offer advantages to its proper complement of sufferers. Is it not time that the unmeaning term scrofula" should be eliminated from the title of this deserving institution ? A MEETING of the delegates of the London Medical Schools is summoned for Wednesday next, at 5.30 P.M., "to consider the proposal that delegates be appointed by the medical schools, to join delegates from other institutions which have expressed a general approval of the recommenda- tions of the Gresham Committee, with a view to pressing on the Government the importance of giving effect to those recommendations. " ___ THOSE who are interested in the question of the Nile reservoirs and Philse may be glad to have their attention directed to a paper by Sir Benjamin Baker, K.C.M.G., in the Nineteenth Centu’J’Y for the current month, in which the subject is discussed-more especially from an engineering, financial, and political point of view. WE are informed that Mr. George Vere Benson, M.A. Cantab., B.A. Durham, M.R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond., and barrister-at-law, is yet another candidate for the appointment of Coroner of the North-Eastern District of the County of London. PLEURO-PNEUMONIA AND CANADIAN CATTLE. ONE of the most destructive and harassing of the con- tagious diseases of animals is that commonly known as the "lung plague " or contagious pleuro-pneumonia of cattle, which was introduced into this country fifty years ago, pro- bably from Holland, and during that period it has proved a very serious scourge to the agriculture and dairying interests. Until quite recently, however, scarcely any effective steps were taken to limit its ravages, and certainly there appears to have been no idea entertained as to eradicating it from the cowsheds and pastures. On the continent of Europe it had prevailed generally for many years before it reached our shores, but with its advent here so little was known of its nature or infectiousness that it was not long before we began to export it with our cattle to our most distant colonies, some of which, as Australia and South Africa, have suffered, and are now suffering, most cruelly from its effects. The United States of America were also favoured with several visitations from it, and though it has lot been allowed to extend to every part of that great. territory, yet it has proved a source of heavy loss and! rouble to many of the States. Not long after we became’ acquainted with it Dr. Willems of Hasselt, Belgium, discovered it to be an inoculable disease, and proposed’ the adoption of protective inoculation to limit its ex- tension. This was the first step taken to combat the- malady, but it was of little avail, and the measure: received small attention on this side of the Channel, as. it was adversely reported upon by an expert appointed. by the Royal Agricultural Society to invastigate it. This. adverse opinion was probably based on the circumstance- that inoculation with the virus of the disease did not, produce the lung and pleural lesions characteristic of the- affection ; but there is ample evidence now accumulated to, prove that the specific local disorder and general febrile con- dition induced by the inoculation confer immunity from the lung complaint ; and the operation is practised on a large:. scale in such places as South Africa and Australasia, where.- the more heroic but less scientific measure of wholesaler- slaughter could not be ventured upon. The success attending the eradication of cattle plague and foot-and-mouth disease by killing all the infected animals- and those in the locality which might have been infected by them, at length caused the Legislature of Holland to attempts the extirpation of this no less formidable pestilence by the same procedure, and in a comparatively short time complete: success was obtained. With such an example before her, England, which had been even more severely punished by the disease than Holland, determined to follow the same’ course and to drop the useless and embarrassing measures- with which she had for some years trifled with the disorder. Unsparing slaughter of the infected and suspected animals, with compensation from the national exchequer to the cattle. owners, produced the same result as in Holland, and now there- is reason to believe that the country will soon be rid of the con- tagion. The great cost and hardship entailed by this action of the Government rendered necessary the adoption of precautions. of a severe and rigid kind against the reintroduction of the. disease from infected countries, and the carrying out of these- precautions has not been unattended by much opposition and disputation. Among the countries whose cattle were sent of our ports, and which were placed on the scheduled’ list as infected, was Canada. The cattle trade with that industrious, progressive, and very loyal colony is of much, importance to it, and is also of some moment to the stock- feeders of this country ; so that the prohibition of admission of Canadian live cattle and their compulsory slaughter at certain ports were likely to cause some discontent on both, sides of the Atlantic. This dissatisfaction has, most un- fortunately, been greatly aggravated on the Canadian side by the feeling that the severe measure applied to, its stock is unwarranted, and that contagious pleuro -- pneumonia has not existed and does not exist in any portion of the Dominion. The cause for the exclnu- sion of Canadian cattle is that, among the thousands continually imported, now and again one or two in a cargo have been found whose lungs, when the animals were killed, offered the lesions which are deemed to be characteristic of the disease by the experts of the English Agricultural Depart- - ment. But others who have inspected these lungs are of a different opinion, and assert with the most pronounced confidence that the animals could not have been affected with the specific disease, and that the lesions were simply those of broncho-pneumonia or some allied and non-specific, malady engendered by insanitary conditions and exposure to, 3 hardship during the voyage across the sea. They also point out that these cases are quite sporadic, only one or two. occurring in a cargo at wide intervals, and that there never has-- been any indication of general contamination, such as would., certainly be observed if the disease was of a contagious. nature. Still more striking, perhaps, is the fact that there has been no trace found of the disorder in the localities from which the diseased cattle were derived, nor yet, as has been* said, in any part of Canada ; and we know from painful’ experience that contagious pleuro-pneumonia when intro- duced into a country-and especially into one like Canada-- speedily makes its presence felt on every side. The Canadian.., Government has taken every means to assure itself that. the disease is nowhere to be found within its boundaries, and it has put into operation measures which shall guarantee - its non-admission from the United States if these should chance to have it. It has also offered to defray the ex-- penses of any experts our Government might choose to senc;’
Transcript of PLEURO-PNEUMONIA AND CANADIAN CATTLE
1267PLEURO-PNEUMONIA AND CANADIAN CATTLE.
unoccupied during the year, and Lord Cranbrook regrettedthat insufficient pecuniary support has so gravely curtailedthe good work of the infirmary. Earl Stanhope-havingtestified to the invaluable assistance that such a charity hadbeen, and must be, for the poor and ill nourished, who were
especially liable to the ravages of the disease, while precludedby their circumstances from obtaining the treatment by seaair and water, which in such conditions would sometimes actas a specific-moved a resolution deploring the position of theinfirmary and pledging the meeting to pecuniary aid. Mr.
J. Whitaker Hulke, in seconding the motion, referred brieflyto the inimical action that the bright climate of Margate un-doubtedly exercised upon the tuberculous parasite. Mr. W. K.Treves also testified to the practical nature of the benefitsconferred upon the patients at the infirmary. ColonelHaygarthmade a proposal, in the shape of a formal motion, that thepublic be invited to assist in raising the funds necessary toopen the full number of beds. This was seconded by Dr.Russell Reynolds, and supported by Sir William Broadbent.We hope that the movement thus auspiciously inauguratedunder the Presidents of the Royal Colleges of Physicians ofLondon and Surgeons of England will bear ample fruit, andthat the Royal Sea-Bathing Infirmary will promptly be placedby a generous public in a position to offer advantages toits proper complement of sufferers. Is it not time that the
unmeaning term scrofula" should be eliminated from thetitle of this deserving institution ?
A MEETING of the delegates of the London MedicalSchools is summoned for Wednesday next, at 5.30 P.M., "toconsider the proposal that delegates be appointed by themedical schools, to join delegates from other institutionswhich have expressed a general approval of the recommenda-tions of the Gresham Committee, with a view to pressing onthe Government the importance of giving effect to thoserecommendations. "
___
THOSE who are interested in the question of the Nilereservoirs and Philse may be glad to have their attentiondirected to a paper by Sir Benjamin Baker, K.C.M.G., inthe Nineteenth Centu’J’Y for the current month, in which thesubject is discussed-more especially from an engineering,financial, and political point of view.
WE are informed that Mr. George Vere Benson, M.A.Cantab., B.A. Durham, M.R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond.,and barrister-at-law, is yet another candidate for the
appointment of Coroner of the North-Eastern District of theCounty of London.
PLEURO-PNEUMONIA AND CANADIANCATTLE.
ONE of the most destructive and harassing of the con-tagious diseases of animals is that commonly known as the"lung plague " or contagious pleuro-pneumonia of cattle,which was introduced into this country fifty years ago, pro-bably from Holland, and during that period it has proved avery serious scourge to the agriculture and dairying interests.Until quite recently, however, scarcely any effective stepswere taken to limit its ravages, and certainly there appearsto have been no idea entertained as to eradicating it fromthe cowsheds and pastures. On the continent of Europeit had prevailed generally for many years before itreached our shores, but with its advent here so little wasknown of its nature or infectiousness that it was not longbefore we began to export it with our cattle to our mostdistant colonies, some of which, as Australia and SouthAfrica, have suffered, and are now suffering, most cruellyfrom its effects. The United States of America were alsofavoured with several visitations from it, and though it has
lot been allowed to extend to every part of that great.territory, yet it has proved a source of heavy loss and!rouble to many of the States. Not long after we became’acquainted with it Dr. Willems of Hasselt, Belgium,discovered it to be an inoculable disease, and proposed’the adoption of protective inoculation to limit its ex-
tension. This was the first step taken to combat the-malady, but it was of little avail, and the measure:
received small attention on this side of the Channel, as.
it was adversely reported upon by an expert appointed.by the Royal Agricultural Society to invastigate it. This.adverse opinion was probably based on the circumstance-that inoculation with the virus of the disease did not,
produce the lung and pleural lesions characteristic of the-affection ; but there is ample evidence now accumulated to,prove that the specific local disorder and general febrile con-dition induced by the inoculation confer immunity from thelung complaint ; and the operation is practised on a large:.scale in such places as South Africa and Australasia, where.-the more heroic but less scientific measure of wholesaler-slaughter could not be ventured upon.The success attending the eradication of cattle plague and
foot-and-mouth disease by killing all the infected animals-and those in the locality which might have been infected bythem, at length caused the Legislature of Holland to attemptsthe extirpation of this no less formidable pestilence by thesame procedure, and in a comparatively short time complete:success was obtained. With such an example before her,England, which had been even more severely punished bythe disease than Holland, determined to follow the same’course and to drop the useless and embarrassing measures-with which she had for some years trifled with the disorder.Unsparing slaughter of the infected and suspected animals,with compensation from the national exchequer to the cattle.owners, produced the same result as in Holland, and now there-is reason to believe that the country will soon be rid of the con-tagion. The great cost and hardship entailed by this action ofthe Government rendered necessary the adoption of precautions.of a severe and rigid kind against the reintroduction of the.disease from infected countries, and the carrying out of these-precautions has not been unattended by much opposition anddisputation. Among the countries whose cattle were sentof our ports, and which were placed on the scheduled’list as infected, was Canada. The cattle trade with thatindustrious, progressive, and very loyal colony is of much,importance to it, and is also of some moment to the stock-feeders of this country ; so that the prohibition of admissionof Canadian live cattle and their compulsory slaughter atcertain ports were likely to cause some discontent on both,sides of the Atlantic. This dissatisfaction has, most un-fortunately, been greatly aggravated on the Canadianside by the feeling that the severe measure applied to,its stock is unwarranted, and that contagious pleuro --pneumonia has not existed and does not exist in anyportion of the Dominion. The cause for the exclnu-sion of Canadian cattle is that, among the thousandscontinually imported, now and again one or two in a cargohave been found whose lungs, when the animals were killed,offered the lesions which are deemed to be characteristic ofthe disease by the experts of the English Agricultural Depart- -ment. But others who have inspected these lungs are ofa different opinion, and assert with the most pronouncedconfidence that the animals could not have been affectedwith the specific disease, and that the lesions were simplythose of broncho-pneumonia or some allied and non-specific,malady engendered by insanitary conditions and exposure to, 3hardship during the voyage across the sea. They also pointout that these cases are quite sporadic, only one or two.occurring in a cargo at wide intervals, and that there never has--been any indication of general contamination, such as would.,certainly be observed if the disease was of a contagious.nature. Still more striking, perhaps, is the fact that therehas been no trace found of the disorder in the localities fromwhich the diseased cattle were derived, nor yet, as has been*said, in any part of Canada ; and we know from painful’experience that contagious pleuro-pneumonia when intro-duced into a country-and especially into one like Canada--speedily makes its presence felt on every side. The Canadian..,Government has taken every means to assure itself that.the disease is nowhere to be found within its boundaries,and it has put into operation measures which shall guarantee -its non-admission from the United States if these shouldchance to have it. It has also offered to defray the ex--penses of any experts our Government might choose to senc;’
1268 CHOLERA.-IMPERIAL MARITIME CUSTOMS IN CHINA.
in order to satisfy themselves of the exemption of Canad’from this lung plague, an offer which has been refused.** It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that Canad’feels rather sore at the treatment she is receiving at thhands of our Government and that the subject has give-rise to much correspondence, the language employed bein.sometimes energetic and even pugnacious. From a Blu<’book just published containing this correspondence, we fin’that our Colonial Minister, the Maiquis of Hipon, is inclineto adopt the view of the Canadians and of those whc
knowing the nature of the disease, can impartially judgwhat the facts should teach. In reply to a letter from th’English Board of Agriculture he says :-
’’ The experts of the Board have, of course, unequalled- opportunities of observing and distinguishing the post-mortenappearances of this disease, and if it were not that thesl.admitted differences exist his lordship would have no besitation in accepting their diagnosis ; but the fact that sucl’differences are acknowledged appears to his lordship to raisl- a strong presumption against the views of these officers.especially when they are not supported by any evidence othe actual communication of disease by one animal tc
.a,nother.......Nothing, moreover, has been advanced to shovthat the disease in question has been actually communi.cated by one animal to another, and, in the face of the.admitted differences in the lesions from those of pleuropneumonia, the presence of causes specially tending t(
’develop sporadic lung disease, and the strong negative evi- dence produced by the Canadian Government, Lord Riporillas great difficulty in accepting the view that it is merely r’type of contagious pleuro-pneumonia, and that it is not E- disease due to the hardships and exposure of the journey tothis country....... As he (Lord Ripon) understands that the im-portation of store cattle does not usually begin till July OJAugust, he hopes that the period of special examinationwhich the Board propose to fix will not be extended beyondthe middle of June, so as to allow time for making arrange.ments for that trade after the expiry of the period, if nofurther suspicious cases should be found. It must, however,be borne in mind that if the view maintained by theDominion Government is correct such cases may not im-
probably occur during the early part of the season, and asthe question of the nature of the disease cannot be advancedby further post-mortem examination he proposes to suggestto the Dominion Government that all cattle destined for this,country should be carefully marked, so that they can easilybe traced to the place of origin, and that in the event of anysuspicious case being found the herd from which it came- should be slaughtered, not with a view to settle definitelywhether the disease was of a contagious character or not."There is nothing unreasonable in this argument, and it is*what anyone not specially biased would endorse.
For some time, also, questions on this very disputablematter have been put and answered in the House ofCommons, where the Minister of Agriculture has done hisbest to defend the course he has taken and to supportthe departmental experts whose counsel he has followed.But he has been compelled to modify his views somewhat inthe face of the facts laid before him and which he could nolonger ignore, and has therefore issued an Order (the Canadian:Slaughter and Examination Order of 1894) stating thatCanadian cattle may be landed only at certain wharveswhich are named ; that there they shall be marked in aparticular manner and kept apart from all other cattle ;that they are only to be slaughtered in particular slaughter-houses, such slaughter to take place during such time as theBoard of Agriculture may from time to time direct ; that
they are not to be removed from the slaughter-houses with--out the permission of the inspector of the Board, and in no- case are the lungs of these cattle to be taken away fromthe wharf until they have been examined by the inspectorof the Board. This order came into operation on the15th inst., and it is to remain in force until the President ofthe Agricultural Department is satisfied that Canada is notan infected country, when he considers that he will be boundto dispense with slaughter at the ports, although some tem-.porary regulations regarding the movement of animals afterlanding will probably be requisite.
In considering this matter from a scientific standpoint itis strange that there is no evidence to show that anythingmore than a simple examination of the diseased lungs hasbeen relied upon in order to pronounce an opinion as to themature of the disease. It is well known that inoculationwith the fresh serum obtained from the lungs will produceeffects which that derived from lungs affected with any other
malady will not show. Surely this test might have beenapplied, especially as there was ample opportunity in eachcase for obtaining such material in a fit condition, the opera-tion being simple and the time required to obtain a resultvery brief. This is something more than an economic orinternational question ; it is one of scientific evidence, whichour protracted experience of the disease should enable us tosolve, and no stone should be left unturned to solve itsatisfactorily on one side or the other. The experts on bothsides cannot be right, and medical science should be in aposition to declare which side is in error and so dispose of adispute that has led to unpleasantness between this countryand one of our most attached colonies.
CHOLERA.
THERE is not much to be recorded this week as to the
progress of cholera. Intelligence about the renewed mani.festations of the epidemic this year comes mainly fromRussia. It is officially declared from Odessa that choleraprevails in seven governments of South Russia, where thedisease, it is feared, is fast spreading. The official statisticsof cholera in Russian Poland show that the districts of Plockand Radom are chiefly affected, and several cases have alsoappeared in the city of Warsaw. The disease also prevailsin Kovno, Podolia, and Kieff. The Russian authorities haveconsiderably extended their precautions this year, and thenumber of medical men in the threatened districts hasbeen increased.The disease is stated to have disappeared from Constanti-
nople, and the quarantine to which vessels arriving fromTurkey were subjected has been abolished.
Cases of diarrhoea, though considerably lessened in number,continue to make their appearance at Lisbon. The fact, how-ever, that the bacillus discovered in the dej ecta of the patientsis identical with that found in the Lisbon drinking-water, anddoes not correspond with the bacillus described by ProfessorKoch and other bacteriologists as characteristic of Asiaticcholera, seems to have dispelled the alarm which was at firstfelt about the nature of the epidemic. Moreover, the mor-tality has throughout been quite insignificant, and leaves nodoubt that the disease is not true cholera.
It may be interesting here to refer to the impressionswhich the proceedings of the Paris International SanitaryConference appear to have produced in India. The Timesof India says that if the Conference achieves nothingelse it will have served the very useful purpose of clearingup a number of fallacies about quarantine ; but the refusalof Turkey to sign the Convention, it considers, stultifies theproceedings to a great extent. The real breeding-ground ofcholera, our contemporary asserts, is not India, and it goeson to declare that no amount of quarantine will ever serveto lessen the ravages of cholera so long as the insanitarycondition of the quarantine station at Cameran, andof such places as Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, and El Torremain in their present state. The cholera outbreak atCamaran among the previously healthy pilgrims on boardthe steamer Sculptor a few years ago is cited by way of illus-tration. The Indian Government has anticipated some of themore practical recommendations of the Conference, and thereseems to be every disposition in India to carry out, as far aspracticable, any reasonable suggestions. The Times of Indiaurges, as a very vital condition of reform in the Red Seatraffic, a matter about which the Conference is silent, how-ever-viz., the establishment of a sanitary board at Jeddah.It adds that with regard to the Persian Gulf the recordsmay be searched in vain for evidence of cholera havingtravelled along that route.
IMPERIAL MARITIME CUSTOMS INCHINA.
(MEDICAL RERORTS FOR THE HALF-YEAR ENDEDSEPT. 30TH, 1890.)
THESE reports, which, in spite of the date of the eventschronicled in them, have only just been issued, are publishedby order of the Inspector-General of Customs, Sir R. Hart,and edited by Dr. Alexander Jamieson of Shanghai. They
