CONTROLLING T.B.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 23, 20 October 1937, Page 13

CONTROLLING T.B.

Valuable Work in Northern Ireland SPAHLINGER VACCINE The Northern Ireland^ Ministry oi Agriculture has decided on an important extension of its experiment with the Spahlinger anti-ituberculosis vaccine. Instead of beiug carried on more or less as a laboratory investigation. the test is to be employed under ordinary commercial conditions. The seheme, in its initial stage, will provide for the compulsory vaccination at birth of all cattlo born within o specified test area of between twenty-five and fifty miles. This will involve the vaccination of soine thousands of animals aunually. It is understood that the cost of the vaccine to be used in this manner will be about one sbilling per head. Along with this sclieme another experiment of an intensive charactcr is to be carried out. To give eft'ect to it, Soipe 60 vaecinated calves and 30 unvacciuated calves are to be kept on a special farm with cows. These cows are to be animals condemned under the Tuberculosis Order. It is considered that this will represent the conditions ot natural infection in as intense a form as could oecur. To increase the etrain still further, lt is intended to breed from the heifers so reared. These new and more extended tests are being resorted to ovviug to the results secured in the original test. The original experiments were carried out in Northern Ireland from 1931 to 1934 by the N.I. Ministry of Agriculture. The test dose injected into the jugular vein of each of the animals contained approximately 100,000,000 virulent living tuberole baccili. Only one out of eleven of the vaecinated calves died before the conclusion of the experiment — from hoose, which probably lowered the resistance Of the animal. The others all throve in good health. In an unvacciuated group the animals lost condition rapidly, following the injection, and five oi the seven injected died. the average time of death being 43 days after the injection of the test dose. Itegarding ten other vaecinated animals in this group which were in thriving condition at the end of the experiment, and sent to the abbattoir for .slaughter, the carcases of nine were passed by the city veterinarian ag fit for human consumption. The rejected animal, which was in quite good condition when slaughtered, was found to have a tuberculous udder and more widespread lesions of tuberculosis than the other animals. This animal had developed udder infection which may have lowered its resistance. The vaecinated animals, in addition to a lethal dose of tubercle baccili injected into their blood streams, were subjected during the two years which followed, to_ intense natural infection. The heifers, rnoreover, were put through the strain of calving and iactation period.