146
occurred in the Gujrat District during the year. In a letter No. 63, dated 25th
February 1896, from the Deputy Commissioner, to the Commissioner and
Superintendent, it is stated:—
"I have the honour to report that the returns just come in, give the following totals as the result to the
beginging of this month, of the attack of rinderpest, which, I am happy to say, is abating. One hundred and
eighteen villages have been attacked, and 3,938 animals have died. I calculate the loss at about Rs. 1,15,000."
Thus it will be seen that the numbers reported to the Superintendent, Civil
Veterinary Department, for the year, fell short of the number reported by the
Deputy Commissioner as having occurred up to the beginning of February, by
3,148 although the Deputy Commissioner remarks that the disease is still going
on. These are by no means isolated cases, but are only given as examples.
From my enquiries it appears that rinderpest is only occasionally reported,
malignant sore throat and charbon symptomatique seldom, and foot-and-mouth
disease very seldom, and these diseases run riot in the districts of the various
provinces of India to an alarming extent.
On this point the Superintendent, North-Western Provinces, remarks:—
"According to reports submitted by District authorities, during the year 31,404 cattle were affected with
disease in these provinces. In a large number of the reports received, it is stated that the number affected is not
known and in others the number of deaths is not given, and in addition to this, reports have only been received
from 27 out of the 48 districts. It will therefore be understood that the above numbers are only a fraction of
the actual numbers that were affected by, and died of disease during the year."
The utter hopelessness of making any progress with the Bacteriological
Survey of disease in the present state of affairs is obvious and it has been found
necessary to adopt a scheme for the investigation of disease, village by village,
with a view to getting a comparatively correct statement of the geographical
distribution of the various serious maladies which exist amongst animals.
Monthly diaries.
546. The monthly diaries, submitted by the Veterinary Assistants, leave
much to be desired, but certain changes have been introduced in the form which
will give us more useful information. One of the changes is the insertion of
the local vernacular names of the various diseases reported on. Another is the
insertion in the body of the report, of the names of the villages in which the
diseases reported, occurred.
Unfortunately the diaries give us no idea of the prevalence of disease in a
district, or the actual number of animals dead, because the men generally
arrive very late at the scene of an outbreak when the number of deaths has
become very few, and they only report on the number of animals actually treat-
ed by them, giving no record of the number of animals attacked during the
outbreak or of the number of deaths. Moreover, they only visit villages to
attend outbreaks when so directed to do by the local authority.
Investigation
of Diseases.
547. Anthrax.—With reference to this disease, I have come to the conclusion
that the great majority of cases reported under this head are not cases of anthrax
at all. I have found on enquiry, in the majority of instances, that any disease
in which there has been fever and -swellings on the limbs or body, and spe-
cially of the throat, as well as cases in which death could not be well ac-
counted for, have almost invariably been returned as anthrax. So it has hap-
pened that the returns under anthrax, show deaths from the following di-
seases to my knowledge:—Surra, Distomatosis, malignant sore throat, black
quarter, sclerostomiasis, jowar poisoning.
548. I have not been fortunate enough to find a single case of this disease,
but I do not, in the face of the statements which are made to the contrary, for one
moment say that it does not exist. I can, however, safely affirm that the
diseases which are returned as anthrax, as a rule, are not due to the presence of
the "Bacillus anthracis." On enquiry in the districts, which I have visited
this year, I have ascertained that the commonest diseases generally returned as
anthrax are Malignant sore throat and black quarter. It is very interesting
to note that black quarter, which is in England supposed to be far more pre-
valent in lowlying swampy places, is not known as a common malady to
the people of Kurnal which is about as swampy a place as it is well possible