Studies on the Survival Time of the Bovine Tubercle Bacillus in Soil, Soil and Dung, in Dung and on Grass, with Experiments on the Preliminary Treatment of Infected Organic Matter and the Cultivation of the Organism

Abstract

For the present it may safely be stated that on growing grass, bovine B. tuberculosis remain alive and virulent, for a period of at least 49 days in summer, in the south of England. Simultaneously with the experiments described above, a feeding experiment on guinea-pigs has been carried out, to discover whether the bacilli, proved to be infective for these animals by inoculation are, after exposure on grass for varying times, capable of setting up infection by the alimentary route. For this purpose a number of colonies of a dozen guinea-pigs each is being fed on grass at increasing intervals after the time of infection. These experiments, which are in progress, are it is hoped preliminary to the feeding of calves on similarly infected pasture.