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County Council (General Powers) Act, 1907, in order to examine
these for the germ of tuberculosis. Twenty-three per cent. of the
samples examined proved to be so infected; and as the result of a
veterinary examination of some of the cows", furnishing this milk, nine
were reported by the Council's Veterinary Inspector to have
tuberculous udders. More recently the Public Health Committee again
reported to the London County Council upon a further 810 samples of
milk taken between October, 1909, and January, 1910. Six hundred and
seventy-six of these samples had been examined up to the date of the
Report, 73 being found to be tuberculous. Altogether, since the
Act came into operation the examination of 1,930 samples shows a
percentage of 9.6 to contain the germs of consumption, and of the
cows examined by the Council's Veterinary Inspector 1.7 per cent.
were found to be suffering from tuberculosis of the udder. It is
not easy to exaggerate the gravity of the state of affairs disclosed
by this research. That nearly 10 per cent. of the milk samples
taken at random within the Metropolis should contain the germ of
tuberculosis is a very serious reflection upon our existing measures for
protecting the public against communicable dilease. It is to be
hoped that in the near future the Government will turn its attention
to the crying need for dealing with this danger.
CEREBRO-SPINAL FEVER.
The London County Council, in accordance with the provisions
of Section 56 of the Public Health (London) Act of 1891, issued an
Older requiring that Cerebro-Spinal Fever should be continued as a
compulsorily notifiable disease in London for a further period of 12
months from the 13th, March, 1909. The Council further considered
whether the term Cerebro-Spinal Fever includes, for the purpose of
notification, cases of Posterior Basal Meningitis; and, on the advice of
a Committee appointed by the President of the Royal College of
Physicians, it has decided that for notification purposes, the disease
known as Posterior Basal Meningitis is included in the term Cerebro.