CONTAGIOUS MAMMITIS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4820, 3 April 1925, Page 1

CONTAGIOUS MAMMITIS.

VACCINE FOR INOCULATION. AN INTERESTING ADDRESS. An interesting and informative address on the new vaccine treatment o£ cattle, with the object of securing immunity as far as possible from the disease of contagious mammitis, was delivered in the Soldiers’ Club, Paeroa, on Tuesday evening by one of the promoters, Mr E. C, Day. He is a clear, lucid speaker-, and traced the history of the discovery and its subsequent developments to a keenly interested audience, comprising fanners from Paeroa, Wharepoa, Hikntaia, Komata, and several parts of the Hauraki Plains. <• Mr P. R. Hubbard, Paeroa, presided. Commencing his address Mr Day apologised for the non-attendance of the Hamilton Vaccine Company’s vetierinary surgeon, Mr H. Burton. In view of the importance of the subject the report is given in extenso, as follows :—

■ I thank you for your invitation to be present this evening to discuss with you this important question ot the inoculation of. cows, for the prove otion of the spread of contagious mammitis.

“f think no better introduction could be given than by explaining the evolution of this vaccine. In 1921 Mr J. G. Smith, who its bacteriologist at the Waikato Hospital, commenced investigations on the relationship between infections in a cow’s udder and in human beings, especially troubles in the ear, nose, and throat, and in trying to prove this relationship he inoculated a cow with a vaccine from the human organism to study its effect —this being the recognised form of treatment, in human beings.

“Until a few weeks ago Mr Smith’s name wais not disclosed, for the simple reason that he was 1 civil servant, and therefore ifot allowed so engage in outside practice. However, he resigned from the Government serviceand Was appointed in a similar capacity under the Waikato Hospital Board, who gave him every encouragement and their full authority to busy himself in this great work. “The principle of a vaccine treatment. is perfectly simple. The germ, known as Streptococcus Mastiditls, is taken from the affected quarter, cultivated into millions in the laboratory, killed, and is then -injected into the blood stream of the animal. The actic 1 of the blood ijs to devour these killed germs, giving off anti-bodies, thereby setting up an immunity against the disease. In other words, an artificial immunity is set up, and this is based on the recognised soundest principles of acquired immunity; but the greatest point of immunity is not reached until some time after 1 inoculation. . •

“In the ordinary course of events a natural immunity against disease is brought about by succeeding generations acquiring the disease, but this takes ye’ars to achieve. For instance, T.B, has decreased 10 per cent, during the past 50 years, owing to human beings working up an immunity against it. In 2000' years we* will probably have nd epidemics of influenza. Of course, there is no such thing in this world as an absolute immunity against any disease. Research has invariably shown that odd cases are likely to occur. Even after cows are inoculated they cannot be brought into contact with massed infection of the disease. This point is strongly emphasised by Kolmer in his works. If a man were inoculated against typhoid, it would still be possible to give him the disease by allowing him to drink large quantities of the germs of typhoid. Ordinary precautions must still be taken, but the vaccine is a great help in assisting cows to ward off. attacks.

“For three yeaits Mr Smith has been working on this vaccine. At first lie madb the same mistake as manv otheiis, for if you will refer to a leaflet published by Dr. Reakes in 1916, you will find that vaccine treatment -had been applied by the Agricultural Department at that time. No hopeful results had then been obtained. The Department had tried to cure cows suffering from contagious mammitis with vaccine, but they did. not succeed. Lt then occurred to Mr Smith tliat it would be advisable to concentrate on giving cows of the future generations immunity from the disease. Cows inoculated by him three years ago have so far proved immune from contagious mammitis. Cows inoculated two years ago have also remained immune.- We do not know for how long a period we can give immunity, the greatest length of time over which the treatment has been tried being thee years. But even if we can give cows an immunity for any time at all the treatment is well worthy of a trial. “One of the most difficult things with which a bacteriologist mujst contend is the isolation yf the exact germ which causes the disease. In the first vaccine used by Mr Smith oh Mr Church’s herd four different organisms were used, but by careful elimination and research he has reduced this down to one germ, the Streptococcus Mastiditis, which is the actual germ causing this particular form of mammitis, and it is this perfected vaccine (I mean perfected as near as it is humanly possible) which we are now using. Science has proved that curing a disease with a vaccine is a long and tedious process. Except in very rare instances it would not be worth while to expend tlto money which, it would entail. In Mr

Smith’s first experiments with Mr Church’s herds, where he attempted to cure the disease, it was necessary in some cases tq give as many as six inoculations. However, from experience gained by him he has found what he considers the correct dosages to give immunity against the disease, and this-is our objective. “In 2000 years’ time there will probably be no such thing as contagious mammitis. It mujst be remembered that it is only in comparatively recent times that cows have been required to do more in the way of milk production than was intended by nature. It is only within a few years that milking machines, butterfat producing records, and intensive cultivation have been adopted. The more artificial the conditions become, the more care should be taken of the animals that are' being milked. In short, we have to compensate the animals for what they are doing for us by looking after .them. We have a duty to perform to them as well as to the farmers generally.

“Contagious mammitis fe the worst of udder troubles, and it is our duty, if possible, to free the animals from this trouble. Laboratory tests taken by the Agricultural Department, show that 43 per cent.-'bf the udder infections among cows are caused by contagious mammitis, while 57 per cent, are due to all sorts of other udder troubles. It should be remembered that this vaccine will not treat everything fromwhich a cow may be suffering. We believe we can give cows immunity and relief from contagious mammitis. To assist, you must keep your cows in good condition. “It must be considered that inocu-

lation is in the nature of insurance.

You insure your house against fire, so why not insure your herd against this awful disease 1 You do not wait until your house is on fire before you attempt to insure it, bo why wait until you have the disease in your herd? Inoculate your cows while they are

clean, and you have a good chance of keeping this' disease off your farm. In a similar manner, when there was a small-pox scare some fe>v years ago, it. was not the affected persons who were vaccinated, but the general public who were treated. We can guarantee nothing. In this business you are banking on good faith, and the reputations of the men behind it. The one-thing, perhapp, that we can guarantee is that the vaccine can have no injurious effect on the cows. This is fully borne out by’ the Government, who are the farmers’ sponsors, for it w’ould have been their duty to issue a manifesto advising farmers not to allow their herds to be done; had they any suspicion that its effects would be harmful; "Mr Smith learnt his business from Mr H. W. Allen, a leading Harley street (London) specialist, with w’hom

he worked for tw T o years. He then

continued his training in New Zea- • land, and is regarded as one of the coming bacteriologists in the country. It is a man with 'a reputation like that who is making the vaccine. Every scrap of vaccine used is thoroughly . tested by him before it is sent but of the laboratory. Only the other day a quantity of vaccine .sufficient to inoculate 3600 cows developed a cloud. Mr Smith was a little doubtful about it, and he poured the whole lot down the sink. That in itself shows how conscientious he is. "The principle of the vaccine is

similar to the T.A.B. No. 1 and No. 2, . which were given to soldiers during the war to give them immunity against typhoid. It should be pointed out that some human beings do not respond to a vaccine, and it is a fact that a certain number of the .troops actually contracted typhoid after" they had been Inoculated. The same thing may apply to cows. That i.s the reason why we do not claim a cure. You cannot claim everything with a vao ciiiK. :

“I might state in passing that we have, conducted blood tests with cows before and after inoculation, and the blood shows a similar reaction as the blood of humans inbculate'd with antityphoid vaccine. The inoculation has no harmful effect upon the cows ; they do not even lose a chew of the cud. -The idea of giving the first dose—which is smaller than the second—is to sensitise the system and prepare the cow for the others. The aim of Mr Smith’s tutor (Dr. R. W. Allen) was to give the maximum amount of organism with the minimum amount of reaction, and this is effected by dividing the doses. . “It is generally during the offseason, when the mammatory glands are resting, that the mammitis germ remains dormant, but when the cow comes in she quite often has contagious mammitis, the disease becoming manifest as the mammary glands ::rj working at high pressure. If the vaccine is nijected during the off•eason the blood of the) cow has a much better chance of absorbing the vaccine and the cow is more likely to come in fit and well. When the sponge of the udder is complete gone it »s ab~ selutclv impossible for the cow tc ccme l>a'-k sound in tho.’. quailcr. If you wish to know' for '.iila tn that your cows are suffering from this disease, all y;u have to d.- i.» to send samples of the milk to Walliiceville Laboratory, Wellington, a; d you will nave a i'?ort sent to m ine of charge.

“The point I wish to stress is this. We have not yet had absolutely definite proof of a case where a cow that has been absolutely free from this disease before has contracted it since inoculation, We have had cows that ' have had contagious mammitis before which have had a recurrence of it after inoculation, but the attack has never been go severe and the cows have become apparently sound after I . a few weeks.

•To show that contagious mammitis is picked up from the ground, at a training farm some few years ago a number of the cows were infected. Some wet sacks were drawn over the ground under some pine trees where the cows had been in the habit of lying, and when these sacks were exam-

ined they were found to contain contagious mammitis germs. This shows that once it fe on the farm it is terribly hard to stamp out —hence the value of immunising the cows.

•’Great care is taken by our staffs to minimise the risk of carrying iftfection from one herd to another. Every cow is painted with iodine on the skin where the needle is inserted. The inoculation is usually given behind the shoulder, but any part will do, as it is only a matter of getting the vaccine under the skin so that it finds its way into the blood stream. AU apparatus is sterilised between each farm, and a new r needle, is used for each herd.

•‘lt has been suggested to us that in publishing this article Mr Smith may raise a scare in regard to the New Zealand dairy produce, but this can be given an emphatic denial, as the pasteurisation required in the making of butter and cheese kills the germs. Similarly, pasteurisation of milk as carried put by the large dairies for town supply also kills the streptococcus.

“The great point to be considered in the benefit the vaccine is giving is the question pf loss of production. It has been assessed by a conservative statistician that New Zealand loses £1,600,000 .annually from the Ipsg of revenue through impure milk, caused principally by contagious mammitis. This, in conjunction with the ravages this disease makes in the herds (and experience has shown that it is always the heaviest milkers that are affected) and the time spent daily in applying external application to reduce the disease, show how greatly farmers will benefit when we achieve our objective, which is to minimise tlie risk of epidemics of this disease, and I venture to say that if we receive your support New Zealand will be fairly free from contagious mammitis in the years to come. Think of the legacy you are giving to posterity.

“I wish you to understand that I do not pose as an authority on matters of science, nor do I claim any veterinary knowledge; but we are most fortunate (in we, I include you) in having a gentleman of Mr Stnith’s knowledge and reputation behind these researches and experiments. Ail I have attempted to do in response to your invitation to-night is to place before you facts relating to our bonafides, the origin of this vaccine, experiments carried out, and results. “No doubt you are aw.are that, we have several field staffs out going at high pressure inoculating. To date we' have done some 32,000 cows, and have bookings for some 20,000 more, and are being inundated with inquiries from all over the Dominion, Australia, and even as far as the Argentine. “We would have preferred to have started a little later with our field work, but felt, that the pressure of requests from farmers was too great to defer it any longer, so decided, although at great expense, to get right to work. In this connection the Government is co-operating with us in doing experiments at Wallaceville and Ruakura. They anticipate it will be two years before they are in a position to give their verdict. The nature of the tests at Ruakura are as follows: The Government has bought ten cows, which, by testing, they have found to be free from contagious mammitis. These have been inoculated with our vaccine. They have now bought ten cows which are badly infected with the disease, and the whole 20 are being milked together. Their idea is to see whether these ten clean cows remain free from infection next calving season, and we are confidently jf the opinion that they will. Anyone is free to watch the .tests at Ruakura, and the Government will be pleased to give interested parties any information on the point. In this matter we are assisting the Government by collecting scientific data ourselves. We have been personally in touch witn most herds that have been done, aihd next reason we intend to forward to every' farmer w r ho has had his cows inoculate)! a card to be completed and returned to us, giving full particulars (both favourable and adverse) of the effects on his cowis. We do not consider our liability ceases when we have collected payment. When we have don® 200,000 cows we hope to have sufficient scientific data available to materially assist the Government in making their pronouncement.

‘I venture to say .that - : n no other country in the world has such an ambitious project ps ours ever been launched of inoculating cows by the thousands. We have constantly been asked : ‘Why does not the Government take over the vaccine and make its use compulsory ?’ And there is usually the idea convened that it should be administered gratis. However, I ask you, would it be at ail likely that thej’ could do this before they have tested it out? You must remember that we arc the foremost dairying country in the world, and the eyes of the whole world look to us in these mattere. It is the boimden duty of the Government to use the most stringent tests before they set their seat on it. and Dr. Reakes says it cannot be done under two years. They are now in the same; position that we were in three years ago. We had to be satsifled with our tests before we put the vaccine on the market, and they must be absolutely satisfied with their'fi before they can give its use their unaualifled approval.

“Our system and conditions are as follows :—

“If farmers will organise a district or territory and obtain a group of cows we will start inoculating. The. only exception we make to this rjule is farmers who are milking for town supply. We cannot do other isolated herds. There are three, inoculations at weekly intervals. We insist on all female stock on the farm ,to be milked next season being treated. The work will be carried out on the reepective farms and in your own bails, hope to have arrangements completed by next season to do any odd animals that may have been added to the herds treated this season. Our charge of 5s per head, payable at the third inoculation, is as low as we can possibly do the work, commensurate

with efficient service. Our travelling expenses; etc., are high, and we engage only men of undoubted reputations and ability to serve you. Our aim is to conduct this business in a dignified and up-to-date manner. We claim that our business is in no way allied to the usual quackery canvassing, with which you are so pestered.’’ QUESTIONS. In reply r to Mr Overton Mr Day said that Mr Church, of Te Awamutu, had built up his herd from heifers from cows that had previously had contagious mammitis, but which, after inoculation, had been absolutely free from disease. Mr Day mentioned that inquiries had been received from Australia and the Argentine relating to the treatment advocated by the Vaccine Company. Since 1902 the disease had steadily increased in New Zealand. Up to the present the Government had not listed contagious mammities as a notifiable disease. In reply to Mr J. Howie the speaker stressed the point that he did not claim a certain cure, but he read a number of letters from farmers who had had their herds inoculated, showing that there had been a considerable reduction of disease. He believed that cows had been cured, but no claim was made that the vaccine had effected that cure.

It was suggested that inoculated cows should be branded, but Mr Day said that a brand was no guarantee, as in unscrupulous hands it would be of little use. A certificate of inoculation was the better plan.

Answering Mr W. L. Jones, tlie lecturer said that it was unnecessary to inoculate bulls because they had no mammary glands functioning. Mr Jamieson asked if the treatment was lasting, and Mr Day read a number of letters from satisfied farmers showing that the disease had been reduced to a minimum, and had in some instances not returned at all. The vaccine, he said, did not. cure all udder diseases.

In reply to the ch airmail the speaker said that a bacteriologist was the only person qualified to make vaccine. In reply to Str N. R. Robson it was stated that at present it. was not considered advisable to inoculate calves, but it was necessary to inoculate all in-calf stock on a farm.

To Mr G. Ryali the speaker said it was not necessary to guarantee a particular number of cows to obtain the services of an inoculator with vaccine.

Replying to Mr Woods, Mr Day said experiments had shown that during the time the cow w’as carrying her calf was the best period to inoculate. Replying to Mr N. C. Millar, the speaker said it was quite possible for a cow to have contagious mammitis without showing any udder swelling. It was possible, in exceptional c’ases, for a cow to work up a natural immunity from the disease.

Answering Mr J. W. Irwin, Mr Day said that his company did not advertise its vaccine. It did not. pay for, or seek, undue publicity, and neither did it canvass for cows to inoculate. It had no knowledge of the, vaccine that was being put on the market by a rival company. His company was the originator of the vaccine, and it had had the courage to submit its experiments to the Government. In answer to Mr A. F. Thorp Mr Day said that inoculation could be carried out as soon as a reasonable number of cow’s were forthcoming in the district.

The meeting unanimously agreed that a. committee be set up to ascertain if a sufficient number of cows w’ere available, and the following were elected: Messrs P. R. Hubbard, Millar, A. F. Thorp, Paeroa; J.‘Howie, Komata: and Jamieson, Awaiti, with power to add. Cows numbering 1077 were guaranteed from members of the audience.

A hearty vote of thanks to Mr Day and the chairman concluded the, address.

It was decided to commence inoculating in the district to-day.