5
Inoculation of susceptible animals with the blood of apparent cures does
not in the case of camels yield much satisfactory evidence as regards recovery
of the camel from his disease but will be desirable later on so as to ascer-
tain if " cured " camels have quite ceased to carry the parasite in any form.
23. Since therefore the results of the year's experiments cannot yet be
considered as conclusive it is unnecessary to go into much detail in this report,
but the situation may be summarised as follows :—
24. (a) By a rather long treatment (covering 37 days) with the 3 drugs
mentioned the results in the four animals treated by the method are as
follows.
Camel 264, no relapse, 491 days since last dose.
do 1097, relapsed 19 days after last dose.
do 839, no relapse, 178 days since last dose.
do
65, no relapse, 162 days since last dose.
Only strong camels can stand this treatment as it reduces them in con-
dition which they do not quickly regain. No increase can be made in the
doses of any of the drugs given by the same channels and at the same intervals
without poisoning ; whilst if a series is omitted the camels relapse.
25. (b) One camel treated by a less severe method with the same drugs
has gone 457 days without relapse and is in splendid condition, but this case
is incidental and unimportant as the same treatment failed in the case of six
others, and the successful case had been used previously for dosage experiments
which may have helped the treatment.
26. (c) Attempts to modify the treatment mentioned in (a) have been
made with the object of making it less clumsy and severe by reducing the
number of doses whilst increasing the amount of the dose ; or by administering
the Atoxyl by a different channel ; or by altering the order in which the three
drugs are given.
The dose of Sodium Arsenate cannot be very materially altered as the
amount necessary to disperse trypanosomes is about as much as it is safe to
give the camel. The doses of Atoxyl can be increased by giving the injection
subcutaneously whilst the dose of Tartar emetic can be greatly increased if
the intervals between the doses are considerably altered.
Prom these attempts at modification, the following are some promising
results :—
Camel 436, no relapse, 147 clays since last dose.—Treatment only fit for
strong camels, though this one stood it very well.
Camel 588, no relapse, 162 days since last dose.—Treated by a short
method on its relapse following the treatment mentioned in (6).
Camel 957, no relapse, 144 days since last dose.—Rather a heroic treat-
ment but camel does not lose condition.
Camel 178, no relapse, 96 days since last dose.—This treatment only took
10 days.
Camel 203, no relapse, 91 days since last dose.—All these camels were
treated by different methods with the same 3 drugs, and I have now begun to
check these results on a new lot of camels, whilst keeping the originals under
daily examination.
27. (d) White Arsenic given intravenously is serviceable in dispersing
trypanosomes and dosage experiments have been completed. Trypanroth and
a Bismuth salt have been experimented with, but the results are not encour-
aging.
28. (e) Although White Arsenic given alone in bolus has no effect on the
trypanosomes in the camel, it disperses trypanosomes if given with an equal
weight of Pot. Carb. in bolus; but was not found more applicable to
systematic treatment than Sodium Arsenate.
29. (f) Observation suggested that the trypanosomes may be more
vulnerable to treatment if the latter is applied on their re-appearance after a
dose of a trypanosome-dispersing drug. Experiments are in progress to see if
this is so.
OTHER NOTES ON SURRA IN CAMELS.
30. Period of incubation.—A 12 year-old camel, incurably lame, which
had been daily examined for trypanosomes with negative results for 166 days,
2 I. G. C. V. D.