The Association of Human and Bovine Tuberculosis

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898. Excerpt: ... quimaux also enjoy immunity, because they have domesticated the reindeer, not the cow. But this allusion to the Esquimaux does not apply to those who inhabit Greenland and that part of the Danish dominions in the Artie region. There are Esquimaux that know not the cow and there are Esquimaux who have domesticated the cow. So there are authorities that state that the Esquimaux are exempt from phthisis, and other authorities equally as positively state that consumption is common among them. Thus, in the government list of mortality for the province of Julianshaab, forty-six persons died (out of a population of 4,115, Esquimaux and mixed breeds) of diseases of the chest, which include phthisis, pneumonia, bronchitis, pleuritis, etc. f This prevalence of tuberculosis is perfectly explained by the facts given in Dr. Hayes's book, The Land of Desolation. % He writes in his visit to Julianshaab: Around the lake were extensive pasture grounds, upon which were browsing a herd of cows... At this I was not a little surprised, for, although I knew that in former times cattle had been reared here in great numbers, I had received the impression that at the present time they would not thrive. Mr. Arthur informed me there was no difficulty in raising them, except the very important one of forage for the winter, for at Julianshaab the grass never grows high enough for hay; further up the fjord, however, it is abundant. But since the hay must all be brought in boats, it was both a tedious and expensive operation to gather it. Yet he managed to keep three cows, the governor had an equal number, the doctor had two, others had each one; and, indeed, all the well-to-do people in the village--Danes, half-breeds, and the better class of Greenlanders--had a daily supply...