THE MILK SUPPLY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1757, 23 May 1913, Page 5

THE MILK SUPPLY.

MOR3 COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINE TION. (By Telegraph.—Prose Association.) Cliristchurch, May 22. In view of the recent discussion by ths North Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board about the Cliristchurch milk supply, with special, reference to tho supply to tho board's institutions, members of that board and the public generally will bo relieved on reading tho following extracts from the report which tho Hon. 11. Ilenton Rhodes, Minister for Public Health, has just received on tho subject from Mr. C. J. Reakes, _ Chief Government Veterinarian, and Director of tho Live Stock and Meat Division of the Department of Agriculture :-"Tho herds from which tho milk supply lor tho Cliristchurch Hospital and the Crhistcluircil Consumptive Sanatorium is derived have been subjected in their entirety to tuberculin test, all reacting animals having been removed from thesa herds, nnd slaughtered. Post-mortem examination of these reacting animals revealed the fact that not only was there 110 trnco of udder tuberculosis, but lesions found elsewhere i\'erc in nearly overy case of a very slight nature. 111 no caso was any indication found which would suggest that any animal could, during life, liavo yielded tnborculous milk. As regards tlio milk supply to tho community generally, careful inspection of cov;3 is maintained, each herd being inspected at least four times yearly. All openly tubercular animals are at on'ce condemned and slaughtered, while all suspicious cases nro subjected to tho tuberculin test and slaughtered if thev react. Arrangements aro now in train to extend the system Df milk examination largely, nnd make it much moro comprehensive. It is satisfactory to note that m fnr, in no case, has tho presence of tubercle bacilli teen domonstrnted in any Cliristchurch milk. Tho system of examination adopted ia similar to that in force in connection with the Manchester supply. At tho sttmo time, our svstem of dairy cow inspection is much more thorough than that in forco at Manchester, owing to tho more extensive powers wo possess for dealing with tubercular cows. Though Cliristchurch possesses r much smaller population, and though tho percentage of tubercular cows in the herds supplying Christchurch is very much less, yet a nnich greater number of tubercular cows nro removed from tho Cliristchurch herds and slaughtered annually, than are remove.! from the Manchester herds and slaughtered."