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* Or 2.9 per cent.
In the first instance cows are sampled in groups; when a specimen
proves positive and it is impossible to discover the diseased cow by clinical
methods, individual samples are taken under the instructions of the veterinary
surgeons, who confer with the farm bailiffs and give such advice as may be necessary
for the treatment of suspected milk and the general maintenance of the herds.
The cows in the London licensed sheds are inspected under the provisions of
Part IV of the Milk and Dairies Order, 1926. The veterinary surgeons inspected each
shed at least four times during the year, making 150 visits in all. During these
inspections 2,545 cows were examined of which 236 were found to be unhealthy,
4 suffering from tuberculosis, 184 from mastitis, 38 from induration of the udder
and 10 with some other defect.
In connection with these inspections, 30 samples of milk were taken for bacteriological
examination in suspected cases; of these, 4 were tuberculous and the remainder
negative. In addition to the special samples, 89 routine samples were taken,
the examination of 1 of which was incomplete, while 6 were tuberculous and the
remainder negative.
In all, 9 tuberculous cows were discovered during 1937 in London cowsheds,
either as a result of veterinary inspection or milk sampling, compared with only 2
in 1936 and 6 in 1935. These animals were slaughtered either voluntarily by the
owner or under the Tuberculosis Order, 1925.
The number of licensed cowsheds in the county has diminished from 738 in
1889, the year of the Council's inception, to 30 in the year now under review. The
existing premises are mostly situated in the metropolitan boroughs of Stepney and
Bethnal Green.
During the year the Agricultural Act, 1937, was passed, Part IV of which relates
to the veterinary inspection of cattle. When this part of the Act comes into force
the Council's duties under the Tuberculosis Order, 1925, and Part IV of the Milk
and Dairies Order, 1926, will be transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture and
Fisheries, and the Council will consequently no longer be responsible for the examination
of animals in licensed sheds.
Venereal diseases
In the Annual Report for the year 1916 particulars were given of a scheme for
the provision of the necessary facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of venereal
disease which had been formulated as a result of conferences between representatives
of the counties of London, Buckingham, Essex, Hertford, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey,
and of the county boroughs of Croydon, East Ham and West Ham.
Licensed
cowsheds