TUBERCULOSIS IN THE NORTH ISLAND

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2072, 25 February 1889, Page 2

TUBERCULOSIS IN THE NORTH ISLAND

Following is the report of Mr J. F, M Clean, M.B 0.V.8., Inspector of Sheep and Cattle for the Wellington district, with reference to the presence of tuberoulosls m certain cattle, and the present condition of a number of slaugtherboußes In the neighborhood of Wellington, to which we referred m oar artiole on < l Tuberculous Cattle" m Saturday's Issue :—

" Wellington, 11th February, 1889. " Pir, — I have the honor to retort that, acting on your Institutions of the 17th uU,, I visited certain parta of tfals (the West Coast) district, with a view of examining certain cattle supposed to be suffering from tuberculosis. On Friday, the 25th, I killed a bullock, the property of Major Turner, Patea, and made a post mortem examination of the same. I found the animtl aoffarlgg ffam advanced tuberculosis, the whole of the lymphatic glands being involved. On Saturday, at Haters, I killed a cow, the property of Mr Livingston, and found, on raaklog a post morttm examination, the diagnostic lesions of this disease. Another now, also the property of this gentleman, killed by nil desire, was suffering from chronic matsmlllary tunjonm

I have go far visited four dairies la the immediate vlolnlty of Wellington, milking In all about 280 oowb, among whioh I found four showing marked symptoms of tuberouloals. (Sere follow certain suggestions by the Inspector, which it is not deeaied advisable to publish.)

Mr H'Olean concludes his report as followb ; — 4< Some of the slaughterhouse sin these districts are a disgrace to any civilised community, and ought, m my opinion, to be under the supervision of some responsible officer, Ihe presenoj m the immediate neighborhood of these buildings of large mausea of decomposed offal, m which pigs are allowed to wallow is, I need hardly Bay, most insanitary and dangerous to the health of both man and boaat. It ought to be comnulaoiy for the owners of those plages to. thoroughly destroy all offal by fire or chemicals and keep their slaughterhouse* m a state of cleanJlnesi by lime washing, . etc, at regular intervals. "

An ©xtrnot from the '• Lancet" is attaobed to the report. We quote the following paragraph from the extract ;— » (< The Committee (i.e., the Departmental Committee on Pleura of the Veterinary Medioal Association) recognised m the fa)}eat terms that tuberculosis was a very prevalent disease, and also a very dangerous disease, as it was communicable to man through the eating of flesh or the drinking of milk from a dieeaeed animal.'