Investigations into the Nature, Causation, and Prevention of Texas or Southern Cattle Fever Page: 52
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TEXAS OR SOUTHERN CATTLE FEVER.
This germ is said to be like the germ of Billings's swine plague (hog
cholera). It "has been found in the blood, the gall, the urine, the
liver, spleen, and kidneys" of every diseased animal that was exam-
ined. It produces Texas fever in cattle when inoculated in " unques-
tionably pure cultivations."
This seems to be sufficient proof. In scientific research, however, es-
pecially when an important discovery is involved, it is incumbent upon
the investigator to give at least to some extent the details of his experi-
ments, so that others may form an opinion of their own as to whether
the work was properly done and the conclusions or inferences war-
ranted. Instead of a conscientious report of work done we find in this
bulletin of 138 pages the same padding used in the swine-plague re-
port of the same author. Quotations, criticisms, and discussions, mostly
foreign to the object of the report, together with an unwarranted drag-
ging in of yellow fever, constitute the bulk of the text.
The germ of Texas fever as found by Billings stains at the ends. It
grows on potato with a delicate straw color, which finally becomes a
brick-red yellow. In the beef infusion gelatine tube it does not liquefy
gelatine. These meager facts are not sufficient to distinguish this
organism from a large group of bacteria living especially in the intes-
tines of all domesticated animals. In fact the few characters apply
very well to the bacillus coli communis, a universal saprophyte in de-
composing organic matter of intestinal origin, and one that has patho-
genic properties with reference to smaller animals. This supposition
is strengthened by the fact that Billings found in fresh and old manure
bacteria not to be distinguished from the supposed Texas-fever germ.
As to the crucial test-the production of Texas fever by the inocula-
tion of cattle with cultures of this germ-one case is reported. A black
steer calf five months old presented four days after inoculation a tem-
perature of 42.50 C. (106.50 F.). The temperature remained high for two
days, when the animal was killed for examination. A glance at the
autopsy notes shows that there is nothing to prove that the disease was
Texas fever. In the liver "each acinus was most beautifully demar-
cated by delicate lines of a bright yellow color, which represented the
interacinus and distended gall ducts." In Texas fever the bile injection
is, as a rule, limited to the ultimate bile canaliculi within the acinus and
rarely extends into the interlobular bile ducts. Was the bile stasis in
the intralobular tissue actually seen under the microscope in this case?
The important pathognomonic sign of Texas fever-haemoglobinuria-
was absent. The evidence that this steer was suffering from Texas
fever is therefore not sufficient by any means, although we do not wish
to claim that it was not Texas fever. This latter disease may have
been inducedby contact with ticks, or by the presence of the Texas-fever
parasite in the cultures originally introduced with blood or bits of tissue.
The total absence of any experimental details as to what culture was
used, how it was injected, where the animals came from, etc., leaves us
wholly in the dark as to the accuracy of the experiment.52
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Smith, Theobold & Kilborne, Fred Lucius. Investigations into the Nature, Causation, and Prevention of Texas or Southern Cattle Fever, book, 1893; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth143538/m1/52/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas Health Science Center Libraries.