[Report 1949] / Medical Officer of Health, Somerset County Council.

  • Somerset Council
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1949] / Medical Officer of Health, Somerset County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    76/104 (page 74)
    Many of file jilants made to-day are so inecliaiiically operated tliat (liey arc praplically fool-])roof. Wliilst Ihe weaknesses of tlie Innnan element have been eliminated to a great extent on sncli plants, there remains the danger of the milk being contannnated after processing by ojieratives through either carelessness or lack of knowledge of how the addition of a minute (jnantity of raw milk may upset the phosiihatase test and fail a sample of milk that has been perfectly pasteurised. It is proposed to give taJks to the staff at each licensed establishment on milk matters and jiersonal hygiene in the hope that they will have a beneficial effect. At the request of the Ministry of Food bi-monthly samples were taken during the year from those dairies authorised to heat treat milk. As these have to comply with the same tests as pasteurised, the figures appended include snch samples. Samples taken. Satisfactory. % Unsatisfactory. 867 814 6.1 Of the 58 nnsatisfaptory samples, 26 failed the Phosphatase test, 25 the Methylene Bine test and 2 failed both tests. Animal Health. There are approximately 309,500 cattle in the County of which roughly 80,000 or one quarter are either “Attested,” “Supervised” cr ’'Tabercnlin Tested. “ To become “x4ttested” a herd must pass three consecutive clean tests, in other words no animal must react at each test¬ ing. “Sn2)ervised” means herds which have jrassed two clean tests and are awaiting the third for Attestation. “Tuberculin Tested refers to those animals which have passed the tuberculin test and comprise a dairy herd for which the owner holds a licence to use the designation “Tuber¬ culin Tested” in relation to the milk produced from it. The figures involved in the herds men¬ tioned at the end of 1949 are as follows. No. of herds Attested and for which “T.T.” licences have been granted ... 802 ,, ,, ,, Attested only ... ... ... ... ... ... 145 Attested 947 ,, ,, ,, Supervised herds ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 191 ,, ,, ,, herds not Attested but for which “T.T.” licences have been issued 422 Total 1,560 Owing to the benefits derived from penicillin treatment, the cases of mastitis have shewn a marked decrease. This inflammatory condition of the nddei' has had a serious effect on the milk yield in past years. The improvement may account for the considerable increase in the gallonage now being produced.