ANIMAL DISEASES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 July 1939, Page 3

ANIMAL DISEASES

ADDRESSES BY VETERINARY EXPERTS NEW RESEARCH DIVISION SET UP. CONSIDERABLE WORK IN HAND. Certain aspects of research work and of animal diseases were the subject of addresses given at Carterton on Friday afternoon at a meeting of farmers convened by the Wairarapa Branch of the National Dairy Federation.

Dr. Filmer, Director of the Division of Animal Research, outlined the propramme and organisation of his division, which had been recently set up and sought to work in co-operation

with the Field Division, Live Stock Division and Chemistry section. He explained the progress of facial eczema experiments. So far, he said, the position was rather obscure, though they had obtained some useful results. Efforts were being made to try to induce facial eczema artificially. Dr. Hopkirk, officer in charge of the

Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory, who has recently returned from a world tour, reviewed the work being done abroad. He said he considered New Zealand’s progress and work compared very favourably with any elsewhere. Dr. Hopkirk proceeded to refer to several diseases of cattle. The New Zealand farmer, he said, was probably more fortunate than others in various parts of the world as far as animal diseases were concerned, as his. ■stock did not suffer from the great virus diseases which occurred elsewhere. Mastitis was bad in-all dairy countries of the world, said Dr. Hopkirk and was certainly the worse disease the New Zealand dairy farmer had to contend with. The culling percentage of mastitis in New Zealand was about 23 per cent, the highest of any cattle disease in New Zealand. In new cases of mastitis the organisms were very virulent and prevalent and

it was likely that these early cases were the chief sources of infection. The influence of teat sores was most important and hence the necessity of . cleaning up those sores. Caccination, said Dr.H opkirk, was not advocated anywhere in the world, as it had no effect whatever. There were, however, curative methods. In moderately early cases up to about a year, 70 per cent could be cured by injecting acrifavine at the strength of one in 10,000 into the udder quarter. The solution was left in for five minutes and then milked.- out. This should be repeated twice. This method was recommended for general adoption in New Zealand. There was a definite heritary influence in this disease and dairymen should not breed from mastitis cows. The causes in New Zealand were firstly two organisms, staphlococcic infection, followed by streptococcic later. .Milking machines and teat sores were potent- factors in influencing the spread of the disease. Therefore, every step should be taken to reduce these causes. Milking machines required particular attention. New work was being done in this direction by the Division of Animal Research and the results should be forthcoming at an early date. It was important to wipe the udder with disenfectant both before and just after milking and to milk affected cows last.

Referring to contagious abortion and sterility, Dr. Hopkirk said there were the next two major cattle complaints, responsible for 15.8 per cent wastage. Blood tests for abortion were not advised for extensive use because of the widespread nature of the disease in New Zealand. It was a disease which had to be more or less accepted. A maternity paddock was advised for any cows showing signs of aborting or calving. Aborting cows should be segregated for three weeks at least. Contagious abortion was spread by ingestion, milking machines, flies and in rare cases by an infected bull. Dr. Hopkirk, who said he had made a thorough study of the work of. vaccination, stated that some new vaccines were being tried out by the Division of Animal Research but there was, at present, no satisfactory vaccine in New Zealand. Another specific in abortion was that known as trichomonas abortion. So far, it had been found in three herds in New Zealand and in these it had caused, quite a lot of sterility. Much work was being done on this particular type of abortion, especially to determine its true incidence in New Zealand. Endometritis (uterine infection) was a common cause of sterility, said Dr Hopkirk. The bull had a great influence in sterility and the Department was doing much work at the present time in the examination of bulls. Work was also being carved out at Ruakura on artificial insemination. With all these cattle diseases the danger in buying stock was stressed. A farmer should, as far as possible, breed from healthy cov.’s within the herd. Farmers disposing of infected stock should refrain from thoughtlessly placing them on the market and should put them through a meat works.

Mr A. H. Cockayne, Director-General of Agriculture, stressed the absolute necessity of feeding animals to a regular plane of nutrition. The custom of wintering out cows was approved. More foresight and better winter feeding was required in many cases. The farming community should become more disease conscious and something on the line of a Dominion-wide veterinary service, which he advocated, would be of inestimable value to the country and the results of valuable research work could bo directly applied. The first line of defence was for a farmer who encountered stock disease to at once communicate with the district veterinarian.