[Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Staffordshire County Council.

  • Staffordshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1954
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Staffordshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    districts where the milk was produced and retailed. The Ministry take steps to find the cow or cows which are secreting tubercle bacilli in their milk, and to have them slaughtered, while the Medical Officer of Health has powers under the Milk and Dairies Regulations, 1949, to place restrictions on the sale of such milk for human consumption. The tables which follow show details of the samples collected, together with the results of the various tests applied thereto. The first table is a summary of all street milk samples collected. Those taken from schools and various institutions are dealt with separately in later paragraphs. So far as the cleanliness (methylene blue) test is concerned there are no significant changes from the previous year, the overall picture showing a slight improvement. The results of the phosphatase test on pasteurised milk were also very similar to those of the previous year. The percentage of positives obtained from the biological testing showed a reduction in all the grades of milk examined. The total sub¬ mitted was 2,160 as against 2,644 in 1953. The number found to be tubercular positive was 34 as against 65 in 1953. The number of samples which can be submitted for biological examination depends of course upon the supply of guinea pigs. Arising out of the 34 positive samples, 24 cows were found by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Veter¬ inary Officer to be affected with tuberculosis and these were slaughtered under the Tuberculosis Order of 1938. The second table shows the number of undesignated milk samples collected in each of the sanitary districts of the Administrative Area, together with the results of the examinations. This table also shows how the districts are affected by the Specified Areas Order. It may be mentioned here that isolated instances have occurred where dairymen have been found selling undesignated milk after the operative date of one of these Orders. The reason given has usually been delay in obtain¬ ing bottles and caps, or misunderstanding of the terms of the Order, but these cases have been given close attention and no difficulty has so far occurred in obtaining due compliance. Apart from the routine street milk ” sampling summarised in the two taTles, two series of special sampling were carried out during the year. Four hundred and sixty-nine samples were taken at the larger dairies in the County of farm milks coming in for pasteurisation. These samples were submitted to the biological test only, and 33 positive samples were obtained. The results were reported to the Veterinary Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and as a result of subsequent investigations 18 tubercular cows were found and slaughtered under the Tuberculosis Order. In the second series, the Department co-operated with the Divisional Veterinary Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, by obtaining samples of the bulk milk from all the undesignated and Accredited producers in a certain area of the County. In all, 227 samples were obtained of which 10 proved positive. The Ministry subsequently found 7 tubercular cows on these farms and had them slaughtered. During the year, 31 cases occurred where milk produced in Stafford¬ shire had been sampled by outside authorities, usually at large dairies where the milk was about to be pasteurised, and had been reported as tubercular positive. These cases are handled by this Department and reported to the Divisional Veterinary Officer of the Ministry of Agri-