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17
" The presence of tuberculous cows in company
" with healthy cows in the cowshed is therefore dis"
tinctly dangerous, as some of the tubercle bacilli
"which escape from their bodies in the excrement are
"almost certain to find their way into the milk."
If Veterinary inspection is made, information would
then be immediately obtained of diseased cows, and
pressure brought to bear on the cow-keepers as to the
proper disposal of the rejected cattle.
MILK FROM OUTSIDE THE DISTRICT.
A large amount of the milk consumed in Harrow is
imported, and its quality and condition should be most
carefully investigated. This can only be done by samples
being taken at the place of delivery by your Sanitary
Inspector and sent to a laboratory for examination. I
have, in my reports both annual and special, drawn
attention to the evil conditions under which some of
this milk is produced, and the insanitary manner in
which it is conveyed. This is very serious, as milk is the
staple food of infants and invalids, and is also used in
one way or another by all members of the community.
The London County Council has taken steps to
examine the milk brought into London by the London
and North-Western Railway Company, the Great Eastern
Railway Company, the London and South-Western
Railway Company, and the Great Western Railway
Company, and after examination at the Lister Institute
the result was that 23.9 per cent., or nearly 1 in 4 of the
samples were tuberculous. The Council's Veterinary
Surgeon visited 19 of the farms from which samples were
taken. As a result of this examination 9 cows were at
once reported by the Council's Veterinary Surgeon to
have tuberculous udders. The owner and manager at
once undertook not to send to market in London any
more milk from these cows. In what place have they
succeeded in disposing of that milk? Seeing that the
bulk of our milk supply comes from outside the district,
and as there is a great interchange of milk supplied to
London, it is quite possible that some of the tuberculous
milk has been sent into Harrow. This is a very grave
subject, and affords abundant food for thought and
stimulus to action.