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important statements relating to the danger arising from the consumption
of tuberculous milk:—
"There can be no doubt but that in a certain number
of cases the tuberculosis occurring in the human subject,
especially in children, is the direct result of the introduction
into the human body of the bacillus of bovine tuberculosis;
and there also can be no doubt that in the majority at least
of these cases the bacillus is introduced through cows' milk.
Cows' milk containing bovine tubercle bacilli is clearly a
cause of tuberculosis and of fatal tuberculosis in man.
"A very considerable amount of disease and loss of
life, especially among the young, must be attributed to the
consumption of cows' milk containing tubercle bacilli. The
presence of tubercle bacilli in cows' milk can be detected,
though with some difficulty, if the proper means be adopted,
and such milk ought never to be used as food. There is far
less difficulty in recognising clinically that a cow is distinctly
suffering from tuberculosis, in which case she may be yielding
tuberculous milk. The milk coming from such a cow ought
not to form part of human food, and indeed ought not to be
used as food at all.
"Our results clearly point to the necessity of measures
more stringent than those at present enforced, being taken
to prevent the sale or the consumption of such milk."
In view of the Royal Commission's report the Public Health
Committee decided to ascertain how far the milk supply of Hampstead
was tuberculous, and 25 samples of milk were taken in the
year 1907, and submitted to the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine
for bacteriological examination. Of these samples, 4, or 16
per cent., were found to contain tubercle bacilli, and in view of
this result the Committee decided that an additional 50 samples
should be examined. As a matter of fact 51 samples were taken
during 1908, an extra sample being added for a special reason,
and these, together with the 25 samples examined in 1907, make a
total of 76. Of these, 21 were taken on delivery at railway stations,
14 on delivery at various hospitals in Hampstead, 33 at milkshops,