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1913] 266
I trust that my efforts in this matter may be the means of throwing
some light on the mysterious cases of this disease in England, which have
recently occurred.
I am,
Your faithful servant,
A. E. HARRIS,
Medical Officer of Health.
Town Hall,
Islington, n.
10th March, 1913.
The subsequent information received by the Medical Officer of Health
showed that the Veterinary Surgeons of the Royal College and those of the
Board of Agriculture were in agreement that the blisters and pathological
marks on the tongue were really ulcers, the result of foot and mouth disease.
This hitherto unsuspected source of the introduction of this terrible disease
into England was a great surprise to Veterinarians, as it pointed to another
possible way by which infection might be conveyed into this country, viz., by
the packing cases in which the tongues arrived from abroad and which when
empty become scattered throughout the country. In this particular instance
the tongues had come from Siberia. It is no surprise, therefore, to find that
the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries immediately issued the following
order :—
ORDER OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES.
Dated 15th April, 1913.
IMPORTATION (RAW TONGUES) ORDER OF 1913.
The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, by virtue and in exercise of the
powers vested in them under the Diseases of Animils Acts, 1894 to 1911, any
of every other power enabling them in this behalf, do order, and it is hereby
ordered as follows :
DISINFECTION IN CONNECTION WITH IMPORTATION OF RAW TONGUES.
1. Any box or other receptacle and any packing material in which raw
bovine tongues shall be brought to Great Britain from any country out of the
United Kingdom which is not mentioned in the schedule to this Order shall,
after the tongues have been removed therefrom, forthwith be destroyed by fire
by the owner of the tongues at the time of removal, and shall not be permitted
to come in contact with any animal.