308 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [VI, III
of growth and in the bovine species it is just between the 5th and 7th month of gesta-
tion that the growth rate attains its maximum. At this period, in those cases of
moderate deficiency, the supply of vitamin-E falls far short of the requirements of the
foetus. Alterations are produced in the foetal tissue which permit Br. abortus to
localise and cause lesions that lead to abortion.
When the deficiency in vitamin-E is still less, abortion does no longer take place,
but the new-born calves soon become victims of pyosepticaemia. The explanation
for this lies in the fact that the lesions caused by Br. abortus, although not extensive
enough to cause abortion, are nevertheless, sufficient to break the placental barriers
permitting the infection of the foetus with coli and paracoli of maternal origin. This
infection breaks out into a septicaemia a little time after birth when the calf is no
longer defended by the antibodies of the mother.
The retention of the placenta is considered to be due to a slight deficiency in
vitamin-E which does not permit the invader to cause anything more than a slow
inflammatory process and this is said to bring about adhesions with the cotyledons.
The factor E is a fat soluble vitamin, the chemical composition of which is still
undetermined. It exists in the sprouts of the graminaceous seeds. From the seeds
it passes into the young plant and when these plants come to bear seeds, no trace of
the vitamin is left in them. Soil, moisture and atmospheric factors may influence the
formation of vitamin-E in the plant. This vitamin is thermostable but is rapidly
destroyed by oxidation. The best form of artificially administering it is as an oil
expressed from the sprouts of graminaceous seeds.
Animals usually refuse to consume the hard seeds and the young plant is, therefore,
the only source of vitamin-E available for them. Incidentally it is mentioned that
abortions are not noticed during the spring and the summer when animals get plenty
of green fodder. Vitamin-E is excreted through the milk, so the need for this factor
is much more in animals that are intensely bred for the yield of milk.
It is claimed that abortion is amenable to treatment based on these assumptions.
The treatment consists of three subcutaneous injections of 30 to 40 c.c. each of wheat-
germ oil, the first to be injected at the time of service, the second at the end of three
months and the third at the end of six. The dosage may require to be increased in
regions where the natural deficiency is great. When the dosage is correctly estimated
success is complete.
It is also emphasised that the treatment is one of prevention and not one of cure.
For the treatment to be effective the first injection ought to be given at the time of service.
The author treated 7,000 cows on the basis of the principles already enumerated,
and the claim is made that in all those cases in which proper precautions had been
taken as regards dosage and time of intervention, the treatment, whether for abor-
tion, retention or mortality of the new-born was invariably attended with successful
results. [V. R. R.]