The Mink Farmers ' Research

early forties when Aleutian and sapphire breeding stock were shipped from Oregon to Wisconsin, and first described the disease along with Dr. John Gorham in 1956. He diagnosed the first cases of mink virus enteritis in the U.S. and he prepared the first inactivated virus vaccines for its control. Doctors Dieter Burger, Dick Marsh, and Hartsough were the first to describe and diagnose mink encephalopathy. It is a rare fatal disease that causes spongy changes in the brain, probably caused by the feeding of "downer cows." He recognized pseudorabies in U.S. mink for the first time. It is a rarely diagnosed viral disease caused by the feeding of infected pork lungs. (This material kindly provided by Dr. John Gorham). Dr. Hartsough can conservatively be said to have saved the mink industry millions of dollars. He was a truly exceptional man and I have felt that there would never be another just like him. But there actually is one who comes close, and that is Dr. John Gorham, who collaborated with him in many of his studies. Dr. Gorham has now reached the stage of his career where he is taking a look back at his very significant accomplishments in mink research. He has assembled a collection of his many publications, written from 1947-2004 on a compact disk (CD) which is available from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164. The CD is easy to use, if you have access to a Windowsdriven computer. And John is able to combine his really worldclass mink research with a lively sense of humor. If you have heard one of his after-dinner speeches, I guarantee you will not soon forget it. Have a great summer and fall, and keep cool!