The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

8 The Health Bulletin October, 1951means a constant threat to the dogpopulation, by the introduction of thedisease through susceptible hosts. Thisis the reason why control of stray dogsthat have not been vaccinated is soimportant in any control program. Inthe midwestern states skunks play animportant part in the control of rabies,by transmitting the disease to domesticanimals. Rabies control programs inthe midwest often must take measuresto reduce or eliminate the skunk populationfor effective control of the diseasein dogs and cattle. Rabies can becontrolled and eventually eradicated ifeveryone gives his complete support tothe local programs organized to defeatthis menace.Brucellosis A Problem,Another pressing problem in the fieldof animal diseases that are transmissibleto man is brucellosis, or undulantfever, as it is known to most people.Brucellosis is a specific infectious diseaseof animals and man, which iscaused by micro-organisms, or bacteria.In cattle, the disease is known as Bang'sDisease, or contagious abortion; inswine, it is known as contagious abortion;in man, brucellosis is known asundulant fever. The report cases of humanbrucellosis in the United Stateshave increased from 100 cases in 1929to more than 7,000 annually in recentyears. There were 21 cases reported inNorth Carolina in 1950. This is a lowfigure, compared to other states, andcan be attributed largely to the low incidenceof infection in North Carolinacattle, which is a result of the excellenteradication program that is being carriedon by the Veterinary Division ofthe Department of Agriculture. Becauseof the difficulty of diagnosing brucellosisin human beings, public health officialsrealize that the present numberof cases that are reported representonly a small fraction of the actual incidence.Brucellosis is not transmissablefrom human to human, so we realizetoday that the control of this diseasein humans is dependent on the eradicationof the disease in animals, togetherwith the sanitary handling andprocessing of foods of animal origin.A Public Health ProblemBrucellosis also affects the publichealth, indirectly, by the loss of foodproducts from infected herds; for example,in some herds, the milk productionis reduced by about 22 per centand the calf crop by 40 per cent, whenthere is infection with brucellosis. Noone will deny that a reduction of foodproduction seriously affects the publichealth. It costs the farmers of theUnited States over $1,000,000,000 eachyear to live with this insidious disease.There are generally two ways in whichhuman beings may become infected.These are: First, the consumption ofmilk or of other dairy products notproperly pasteurized from infectedcows; and, second, from contact withinfected animals and their infective discharges.To control brucellosis, we must firsteradicate the disease from our domesticanimals and thus eliminate this reservoirof infection. Until this is accomplished,we can prevent the diseasein humans only by using daii-y productsthat have been properly pasteurized;by eating meat products that have beenprocessed under sanitary conditions andwhich have received proper inspection,and by avoiding contact with infectedanimals and their discharges. Brucellosisin human beings frequently results ina serious, debilitating, incapacitatingillness of long duration. It can be preventedin human beings and eradicatedin animals.