I refer to the question of the transmissibility of
some bovine diseases to human beings by the consumption of
the meat of diseased animals.
The primary object of my paper is to show that there is
prevalent amongst the cattle in Tasmania, as well as in the
adjacent colonies, from which we obtain a large proportion of
our meat supply, a disease which resembles tuberculosis in
some respects, but differs from it in the specific micro-organism
that is the cause of the disease, and yet, like tuberculosis, is
transmissible to the human subject, and is almost as
distressing in its consequences.
Soon after the publication of the discovery of the
actinomyces or ray-fungus iu diseased cattle, the same
vegetable parasite was found in man; and it was then seen
that the tumours in the bovine species presented great
similarity to those found in the human subject, leading to the
presumption that it was identically the same disease.
It has been shown by experiment that the introduction of
the fungus by inoculation into a calf has produced swellings
which contained the characteristic clubs of the fungus, thus
suggesting that this disease can be transmitted by direct
inoculation.
Many similar experiments have been made with a view to
prove the transmissibility of this vegetable parasite from
animal to animal, and in the majority of cases with a positive
result
