ROUTES OF INFECTION

Tubercle bacilli may enter the animal's body in different ways, the most important being

through the nose in breathing. An animal affected with tuberculosis of the lungs may cough frequently and discharge into the air millions of bacilli. These are readily inhaled by animals close to the affected one.

Tubercle bacilli may also be taken in through the mouth with food and water. In a tuberculosis infected herd, a lick to which all stock have access is very undesirable.

Tubercle bacilli can survive for a long time on pastures. As infected cattle may pass out large numbers of bacilli in their dung, the pastures may become heavily contaminated. Lick or feed boxes or communal water troughs are other possible sources of infection.

Tubercle bacilli may also enter the body through wounds, scratches, or abrasions.

SYMPTOMS

The disease is chronic and usually develops slowly after months or years, but sometimes, due to the lowering of the animal's resistance, tuberculosis may become suddenly active and acute. A cow has often had the disease a long time before noticeable symptoms such as loss of condition, a dry, harsh, and usually hide-bound coat, sunken and dull eyes, and variable appetite appear. Coughing is a common symptom and breathing becomes more rapid and laboured.

Tuberculosis of the udder cannot be diagnosed until it is well advanced. The affected udder may be greatly enlarged, very uneven, and the milk at first brownish and later thin, watery, and straw-coloured with yellowish flakes in it.

The only accurate method of detecting animals affected with tuberculosis is by the tuberculin test. This test is given by veterinarians. As many Maori farmers are members of veterinary clubs, such tests should not be too difficult to arrange. Tuberculin is injected into the thickness of the skin just under the root of the tail.

HERD CONTROL OR ERADICATION

Some method of control must be adopted if progress is to be made in reducing the incidence of tuberculosis. All animals reacting to the test must be slaughtered without delay, but this creates serious difficulties for owners of badly infected

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herds. These animals are condemned by a Livestock Instructor or Government Veterinarian under the Stock Act, with compensation at a maximum of £6, in the case of reactors with no outward signs of T.B. Where the infection proves heavy only a proportion of the herd is tested and the owner is encouraged to rear as many heifer calves as possible to provide these replacements and so permit culling of older cows. The proportion of the dairy cows tested should be as high as possible and testing should be done annually about the end of the milking season. A close watch must always be kept for any suspicious symptoms in cows that have not been tested and if a veterinarian advises that they must be slaughtered, this should immediately be done.

Resistance against tuberculosis is built up by good nutrition. Ample reserves of good supplementary feed must be maintained and over-stocking avoided. Care should be taken that cows are not subjected to undue physical stress by feed shortages in severe weather or in the latter part of pregnancy and during heavy lactation. When eventually the herd has been cleaned up it should be re-tested every year. As far as possible the herd should be self-contained, but if replacements have to be bought, it is advisable to have them tested before they are brought on to the farm. Where trouble has been taken to eliminate tuberculosis from a herd, a continued effort to keep the herd free of the disease will increase cream cheques and protect the health of families.

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Maori rate collection in the Rotorua County has increased from £5,159 in 1954–55 to £8,980 this year largely as the result of the council's appointment of an officer who investigated land titles and brought them up to date on the valuation roll. Percentage of levied rates collected rose from 41.3 to 50.4. The difficulty of finding owners and apportioning rates among them has been a principal cause of the low percentage collected in the past, so it was found.