- Email: [email protected]
Foot-and-Mouth Disease from an Indian Standpoint
Foot- and-Jlouth Disease i n India
lll
Th e tendency also t o troublesome sequelre is also marked. Pneumonia is a common result, a nd frequently a severe ma mmitis in m ilking cattle . Neglect of the feet in severe foot cases will sometimes lead to ex tensive ulcera tion, which tends to form fist ulre in the h oof, a nd possible shedding of the horn . In very wet weather a fa tal diarrh rea may supervene. TREATME N T.
This may b summed up in a few words. Isolat ion, strict cleanliness a nd jud icious nursing. Medicin al applications other t ha n simple antiseptics to the local lesions is not necessary . F eed ing on easily masticated food , a nd subseq uently a general toni c usually suffices. [n sheep a foot bath of a weak astringent a ntiseptic may be used , but wit h ca t tle a spray is sufficient. If a nimals a re in shelter, constant spraying wit h a n a ntiseptic is essential. The floors, walls, etc ., should b e done daily, a nd th cattle themselves with a weak solution. :\ny of t he reliable commercial carbolic preparations with a. soap base are indicated. vVhen a nima ls are in the open, cha nge of ground a nd avoidance of mud a nd excessive dampness should be aimed at . Complications which a rise should be treated as the symptom in dicate. Manure a nd all excreta should be stacked as quickl y as possible, so th at t he p rocess of fermentation m ay dest roy a ny infection. Combings and brushings of the hair a re advisable, and all such dirt removed fro m the coats of a nimals should be burnt. Meti culous care is necessary in t he thorough di infection of all attenda nts whenever t hey leave the vicinity of a nimals. The I ndian Civil Veterina ry Dep artmen t d oes a great deal of work in co-ordinating isola tion so fa r as p ossible, and prevent ing movement during outbrea ks. l\fedicin al treatment is given, a nd t heir exertions have ha d considerable effect in l essening losses. FOOT-AN D-1\W UTH DISEASE F IWM AN STANDPOI NT.
I NDIAN
J3y F. WARE, F.R.C.V.S.,
I ndian Veterinary Service, J11I ad1•as.
To one who h as been accustomed to look upon foot-and-mouth disease in cattle much as one d oes a mild epidemic of influenza amongs t huma n b eings, it comes somewhat as a surprise to find such a vast a mount of ignorance ex isting in this coun try as to the nature of t his disease. The writer returned to E ngland when the present epidemic was first reaching large proportions a nd when the lay Press was beginning to offer the profession ma ny weird a nd wonderful methods of treatment fo r \Yhat was app arently considered to be an almost incura ble disease. It is to be hoped th a t t he well-informed articles which appeared
112
The Veterinary Journal
later in The T imes, Daily T elegraph, and other papers will go a long way towards educating the public in the matter , and will remove the stigma which the profession has undoubtedly acquired through this prevailing ignorance. In India the question of slaughtering cattle affected with any contagious disease, for religious reasons, has never been seri ously cont empla ted . The result is tha t foot-and-mouth disease is very prevalent, and in fact is often an annual occurrence in a village. Moreover , as the immunity conferred by one attack is of such short duration, the same animals are liable to infection each time. Farmers who are unable to breed their own draught bullocks rely for their supplies on the annual and weekly cattle fairs in which India abounds, and no easier method of spreading the disease over a large area of country can be imagined . In the Madras Presidency in recent years attempts have bee n made to stop th e spread of the disease by closing fairs in th ose areas in which it is known to exist, but the efforts of Government have always been defeated by th e dealers, who then hawk their animals round from village to village, and the stoppage of this traffic so far has been found impracticable. The farmers themselves, in the case of foot-and-mouth disease, cannot be relied upon to give much help, for they appear to find it difficult to understand why any efforts should be made t o control so mild a disease, and in fac t it often happens tha t an outbreak of it is not reported for the simple reason tha t it was not considered of sufficient importance! Although treated in this nonchalan t way by the people of India, it does cause them a considerable amount of economic loss, par ticularly amongst their draught bullocks. Not only do these suffer in condition, but many cases of chronic lameness and even deformity of the feet are seen as a sequel t o the disease amongst animals which have not been properly treated, and t here are many thousands of such in Indi a. As regards mortality, the official figures are probably only very a pproximate, but it is reported that there have been only 2,000 deaths a mongst cattle on an average during the last fi ve years in the Madras Presidency, whose cattle popula tion is roughly 200 millions. Considering the prevalence of the disease amongst cattle, one would expect , judging from what is found in Europe, to hear of a considerable number of human cases, but the writer has not heard of one in the course of six teen years. This does not preclude their occuri·ence altogether, but it certainly would seem t o show tha t they a re not common , and this is all the more remarkable when one rememb ers .that cattle are often stabled in the verandahs of human dwelling houses, and that milk is a much-sought-after food :
lll
Th e tendency also t o troublesome sequelre is also marked. Pneumonia is a common result, a nd frequently a severe ma mmitis in m ilking cattle . Neglect of the feet in severe foot cases will sometimes lead to ex tensive ulcera tion, which tends to form fist ulre in the h oof, a nd possible shedding of the horn . In very wet weather a fa tal diarrh rea may supervene. TREATME N T.
This may b summed up in a few words. Isolat ion, strict cleanliness a nd jud icious nursing. Medicin al applications other t ha n simple antiseptics to the local lesions is not necessary . F eed ing on easily masticated food , a nd subseq uently a general toni c usually suffices. [n sheep a foot bath of a weak astringent a ntiseptic may be used , but wit h ca t tle a spray is sufficient. If a nimals a re in shelter, constant spraying wit h a n a ntiseptic is essential. The floors, walls, etc ., should b e done daily, a nd th cattle themselves with a weak solution. :\ny of t he reliable commercial carbolic preparations with a. soap base are indicated. vVhen a nima ls are in the open, cha nge of ground a nd avoidance of mud a nd excessive dampness should be aimed at . Complications which a rise should be treated as the symptom in dicate. Manure a nd all excreta should be stacked as quickl y as possible, so th at t he p rocess of fermentation m ay dest roy a ny infection. Combings and brushings of the hair a re advisable, and all such dirt removed fro m the coats of a nimals should be burnt. Meti culous care is necessary in t he thorough di infection of all attenda nts whenever t hey leave the vicinity of a nimals. The I ndian Civil Veterina ry Dep artmen t d oes a great deal of work in co-ordinating isola tion so fa r as p ossible, and prevent ing movement during outbrea ks. l\fedicin al treatment is given, a nd t heir exertions have ha d considerable effect in l essening losses. FOOT-AN D-1\W UTH DISEASE F IWM AN STANDPOI NT.
I NDIAN
J3y F. WARE, F.R.C.V.S.,
I ndian Veterinary Service, J11I ad1•as.
To one who h as been accustomed to look upon foot-and-mouth disease in cattle much as one d oes a mild epidemic of influenza amongs t huma n b eings, it comes somewhat as a surprise to find such a vast a mount of ignorance ex isting in this coun try as to the nature of t his disease. The writer returned to E ngland when the present epidemic was first reaching large proportions a nd when the lay Press was beginning to offer the profession ma ny weird a nd wonderful methods of treatment fo r \Yhat was app arently considered to be an almost incura ble disease. It is to be hoped th a t t he well-informed articles which appeared
112
The Veterinary Journal
later in The T imes, Daily T elegraph, and other papers will go a long way towards educating the public in the matter , and will remove the stigma which the profession has undoubtedly acquired through this prevailing ignorance. In India the question of slaughtering cattle affected with any contagious disease, for religious reasons, has never been seri ously cont empla ted . The result is tha t foot-and-mouth disease is very prevalent, and in fact is often an annual occurrence in a village. Moreover , as the immunity conferred by one attack is of such short duration, the same animals are liable to infection each time. Farmers who are unable to breed their own draught bullocks rely for their supplies on the annual and weekly cattle fairs in which India abounds, and no easier method of spreading the disease over a large area of country can be imagined . In the Madras Presidency in recent years attempts have bee n made to stop th e spread of the disease by closing fairs in th ose areas in which it is known to exist, but the efforts of Government have always been defeated by th e dealers, who then hawk their animals round from village to village, and the stoppage of this traffic so far has been found impracticable. The farmers themselves, in the case of foot-and-mouth disease, cannot be relied upon to give much help, for they appear to find it difficult to understand why any efforts should be made t o control so mild a disease, and in fac t it often happens tha t an outbreak of it is not reported for the simple reason tha t it was not considered of sufficient importance! Although treated in this nonchalan t way by the people of India, it does cause them a considerable amount of economic loss, par ticularly amongst their draught bullocks. Not only do these suffer in condition, but many cases of chronic lameness and even deformity of the feet are seen as a sequel t o the disease amongst animals which have not been properly treated, and t here are many thousands of such in Indi a. As regards mortality, the official figures are probably only very a pproximate, but it is reported that there have been only 2,000 deaths a mongst cattle on an average during the last fi ve years in the Madras Presidency, whose cattle popula tion is roughly 200 millions. Considering the prevalence of the disease amongst cattle, one would expect , judging from what is found in Europe, to hear of a considerable number of human cases, but the writer has not heard of one in the course of six teen years. This does not preclude their occuri·ence altogether, but it certainly would seem t o show tha t they a re not common , and this is all the more remarkable when one rememb ers .that cattle are often stabled in the verandahs of human dwelling houses, and that milk is a much-sought-after food :