IV]
H. K.LALL, GOPAL SINGH AND JAGAT SINGH 245
In the first instance we tried without success to infect two lambs, a buffalo calf and a cow calf.
Some Hissari and Bikaneri sheep were also constantly kept in close contact with infected animals
but the disease did not appear among them. In another attempt two Bikaneri, two Hissari (Merino-
Bikaneri crosses) lambs were infected; in one animal of each bread the virus was scarified and in
the other it was given intracutaneously. The two scarified lambs developed vesicles over the scarified
area but nothing happened in the other two. The experiment was repeated with two more lambs
using udder scabs from a severe case, goat No. 59. One of the two lambs, No. 248 was scarified
as well as inoculated intracutaneously at the caudal fold, while in the other, No. 272, the material
was given intracutaneously only. No. .248 developed a local reaction and pox lesions on the
sixth day on the scarified area only, while the other developed vesicles on the abdomen at about
the same time. These experiments indicate that it is possible to produce a localized lesion in sheep
with goat-pox virus, but that sheep do not get a generalized form of the disease either by artificial
infection or by exposure to naturally diseased animals.
A group of cross-bred hill goats, maintained at the farm (Kangra hill Angora) contracted the
disease naturally and, of course, it was also possible to transmit the disease to them artificially. Out
of the two cross-bred kids used for experiment, one was scarified on the abdomen
and the other was injected intracutaneously at the caudal fold. The kid which was scarified developed
local vesicles on the third day and a generalized form of the disease on the eighth day, while the other
failed to develop the disease except for a local reaction in the form of a hard nodule.
VACCINATION
When the first case was brought to our notice, it was deemed necessary to immunize the rest
of the flock, for which purpose serum-sensitized and glycerinated virus vaccines were tried. The
virus was obtained from field cases. This method along with ' ovination' has been tried by Chadha
[1942-1943] with inconclusive results. Immunization by ovination was also tried on 510 goats
by Vishwanathan [1938-1939] who observed severe local or generalized reaction in most of them.
Glycerinated virus
Fifteen female goats 12 to 15 months old and ten kids two to three months old were inoculated
intracutaneously at the caudal fold on the 19th April, 1945, with two drops of glycerinated virus
(virus material mixed with an equal volume of glycerine) which had been left for 24 hours at serum
pit temperature (about 55-65°F.). The vaccinated animals, with one exception, developed a typical
local reaction in the form of a flat, sharply circumscribed vesicle of the size of an eight anna bit. The
reaction started as a reddening on the third day, developing into a raised flat vesicle two or three
days later. In three cases, where an excess of virus was injected by accident, the local reaction was
severe, resulting in necrosis and ulceration of the skin. Five female goats also developed a few lesions
on the body, but these animals were possibly in the incubation stage at the time of vaccination.
Mild thermal reaction lasting for three to four days was seen in some cases on the sixth day.
Serum-sensitized virus
Scabs from fresh cases were soaked in serum from a recovered animal, who had shown an acute
infection and the suspension kept in the serum pit for 24 to 48 hours. Ten kids were injected intra-
cutaneously into the caudal fold with suspension which had been held for 24 hours, and this produced
a local reaction in all except one. Three of the kids developed a mild degree of pox with two to three
vesicles only. In a second group of five goats, which were given a 48-hour old suspension, there was
a local reaction only. These reactions were similar to, though slightly milder than the ones produced
by glycerinated virus, and consisted of a rise of temperature on the fourth to the sixth day.
A week after the reaction had subsided, all the vaccinated animals along with five controls, were
kept in close contact with infected goats for three weeks, but unfortunately neither controls nor
vaccinated showed any symptoms. These experiments were thus inconclusive, except for the fact
that neither glycerinated nor serum-sensitized virus produced severe reactions when used as a vaccine.