NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
102 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ I, II
TABLE
Organism
Bhowali
organism.
S. galli¬
narum
"type"
English
strain.
S. Pullorum
"type"
English
strain.
Morphology
Non-motile rods 0.8
to 1.8 microns long,
occurring singly or
in short chains,
sometimes showing
peripheral but not
bipolar staining.
Gram negative.
Ditto .
Non-motile rods 1.0
to 2.5 microns long
mostly
occurring
singly.
Gram negative.
Cultural characteristics
Plain agar
slant
Gray,
moist,
glisten-
ing
colonies.
Do.
Discrete
trans-
lucent,
moist,
glisten¬
ing
colonies.
Plain
broth
Turbid
with
sedi-
ment.
Do
Do.
Potato
Grayish
yellow
growth
slightly
dry.
Do.
Moist,
deep
grayish
yellow,
glisten-
ing.
Biochemical reactions
Gelatin
Not
lique-
fied.
Do.
Do.
Litmus
milk
Very
slight
acidity
followed
by alka-
linity.
Do.
Indol
forma-
tion
Not
form-
ed.
Do.
Do.
FOWL TYPHOID IN INDIA
103
II.
Carbohydrate fermentation
Dextrose
A
A
AG
Lactose
—
—
Saccharose
A
slight.
A
slight.
A
slight
Mannitol
A
A
AG
Levulose
A
A
AG
Galactose
A
A
AG
Rhamnose
A
A
AG
Arabinose
A
A
AG
Maltose
A
A
—
Dulcite
A
A
—
Dextrin
A
A
—
Xylose
A
A
AG
Inositol
A
A
—
Sorbitol
—
—
AG
Identification
S. Gallinarum.
S. Gallinarum.
S. Pullorum.
Acid.
Gas.
Unchanged.
104 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ I, II
Samples of serum obtained from fowls both naturally and artificially infected
with the Indian strain of Salmonella gallinarum behaved in an identical manner
when tested by the agglutination test against strains of Salmonella gallinarum,
English and Indian, Salmonella pullorum and B. typhosus. Details are given in
Table III.
TABLE III.
Serum from
Rabbit No. 53 .
Rabbit No. 54 .
Fowl No. 97
Fowl No. 90 .
Fowl No. 143 .
Fowl No. 142 .
Fowl No. 144 .
Fowl No. 123 .
Fowl No. 125 .
History
Injected
with broth
culture of virulent S.
Gallinarum, Bhowali
and bled after 10 days.
Infected
with
broth
culture of S. Gallinarum,
Bhowali and bled after
13 days.
Recovered after artificial
infection with Fowl
Typhoid 15 days after
infection.
Reported to have suffered
from Fowl Typhoid and
recovered in the out-
break.
Healthy controls .
Result of agglutination test against the antigen of
S. Galli¬
narum
Bhowali
strain
+
+
+
+
+
—
—
—
_
S. Galli-
narum
English
strain
+
+
+
+
+
—
__
—
__
S. Pullorum
+
+
+
+
+
—
—
—
__
B. Typhosus
+
+
+
+
+
—
—
—
—
FOWL TYPHOID IN INDIA
105
It is thus not possible, as has already been reported by a number of workers, to
distinguish by the agglutination test between fowl typhoid caused by S. gallinarum
and bacillary white diarrhœa caused by S. pullorum.
Dead bacterial culture was prepared for use as a vaccine, by growing the
organism on agar plates, collecting the growth, emulsifying it in carbolised normal
saline solution to opacity 8 by barium sulphate standard tubes and heating it at
65°C. for one hour. This vaccine, however, failed entirely to protect fowls in-
oculated with it against a small dose of the living organism given by subcutaneous
injection. Details are given in Table IV.
TABLE IV.
Fowl No.
23A.
3A.
30A.
53A.
572A.
585A.
586A.
12B.
523A.
588A.
15A
20A.
571A.
1st vaccination
Date
29-8-30
Dose
1 c. c.
Nil. Controls.
29-8-30
Nil.
1 c. c.
Controls.
2nd vaccination
Date
Nil.
12-9-30
Dose
Nil.
5 c. c.
Test with S. gallinarum
living culture
Date
5-9-30
19-9-30
Dose
0. 5 c. c.
0. 5 c. c.
Result
Died 4th day.
Died 6th day.
Died 8th Day.
Lived.
Died 2nd day.
Died 6th day.
Died 6th day.
Died 6th day.
Died 7th day.
Died 7th day.
Recovered.
Died 4th day.
Died 22nd day.
106
THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
[ I, II
Since, however, three fowls which were reported to have been affected and
recovered from the natural disease in the Bhowali flock and one fowl which had
recovered from artificial infection also succumbed to an injection of the same living
culture, as detailed in Table V, it appears that the organism used for test purposes
was so highly virulent as to break down both natural and artificial immunity. It
is probable that vccination might prove still to be of use, however, against natural
infection.
TABLE V.
Fowl
No.
90
143
142
144
History
Survived artificial infec-
tion and tested on the
14th day.
Said to have recovered
from the natural disease
at Bhowali.
Agglutination
titre prior
to the
test
+
+
—
—
Infection with S. gallinarum
living culture
Date
5-9-30
Dose
0. 5 c. c.
Result
Died 15th day.
Died 11th day.
Died 7th day.
Died 11th day.
Now that the existence of fowl typhoid in India has been proved, it is a
matter of considerable importance to take steps at once to study the extent and
distribution of this disease in India.
RANIKHET DISEASE : A NEW DISEASE OF FOWLS IN INDIA DUE
TO A FILTER-PASSING VIRUS.*
BY
HUGH COOPER, M.R.C.V.S., I.V.S.,
Veterinary Research Officer, Imperial Institute of Veterinary Research,
Muktesar-Kumaun.
(With 10 charts.)
The earliest mention of the disease described in this paper occurs in the Annual
Report of the Muktesar Institute for 1927-28, where, under the heading " A New
Fowl Disease," Dr. Edwards refers to an exceptionally heavy outbreak of disease
in July, 1927, which accounted for about 400 highly bred fowls, within the brief
space of two months, out of a flock of about 600 on a farm at Ranikhet, a neigh-
bouring station to this Institute situated in the Kumaun foot-hills of the Himalayas.
The two characteristic features of the disease stressed by Dr. Edwards were " the
almost entire absence of lesions" and the non-inoculability of the virus with the
blood of infected birds, although it was " readily conveyed with filterates of mouth-
washings ".
Towards the latter part of 1928, the disease was diagnosed in a number of sick
fowls forwarded to this Institute by a private poultry-owner in the Carhwal district
of the United Provinces. Again, in January and April of last year, 1929, the disease
occurred in two separate outbreaks on the farm of the United Provinces Poultry
Association at Lucknow, and the identity of the disease in one at least of these
outbreaks with " Ranikhet Disease " was confirmed from examination of infected
fowls at the Muktesar Laboratory.
Infective material thus became available at this Institute from each of the
three outbreaks referred to above, and advantage was taken of the opportunities
thus afforded to carry out a study of the disease under laboratory conditions.
A brief reference to this work was included by the writer in the Annual Report
of the Muktesar Institute, 1928-29, and the present paper includes results obtained
since 1927 from the study, which is still in progress.
Outbreaks of what would appear to be the same disease—for its identity can
hardly be mistaken despite the frequently meagre clinical details available—have
also been reported from a large number of widely separated localities in India,
and even appeals for help in combating the outbreaks have been noticed in the
correspondence columns of Indian newspapers.
*Paper submitted to World Poultry Congress, 1930.
( 107 )
108 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
[ I, II
A fact of some considerable interest in connection with these natural outbreaks
of the disease is that in many of the reports it is stated that crows were noticed
to be dying in very large numbers in the vicinity of poultry farms when the disease
was raging at the time among poultry upon the farms.
ISOLATION OF INFECTIVE MATERIAL.
Trials with mouth-washings, emulsions of internal organs and with blood from
infected birds soon showed that whilst the first two proved infective when injected
under the skin of healthy fowls, the inoculation of blood in this manner some-
times failed to produce infection. Also, the virus proved capable of passing easily
through fine bacterial filters ( " L 3 " candles fitted to Martin's filtering apparatus).
In the earlier experiments, the infective material used in the artificial production
of the disease consisted entirely of mouth-washings, but latterly it was supplanted
by organ emulsion on account of the ease with which the latter could be kept alive
under laboratory conditions. The preservation of the organ emulsion was carried
out on the lines indicated by Doyle [1927] in his report upon the so-called " New-
castle Disease," use being made for the purpose of a mixture of the main cellular
organs of the body, liver, spleen and kidneys. The organs were removed with
strictly sterile precautions from fowls destroyed at the commencement of the
disease, subjected to a process of desiccation, and stored, without the addition of
any preservative, in a refrigerator at a temperature below 4 degrees Centigrade.
As would appear from the following Table, when stored in this manner the material
proved definitely infective for 125 days, and probably until 169 days, in spite of
the fact that in a few instances it was noticed to have developed contaminating
growths of mould.
Age of
virus
days
87
91
95
101
105
111
115
121
125
147
151
155
169
No. of
fowls
tested
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Fowls died
"Ranikhet
disease''
2
2
1
2
2
1
2
1
1
—
—
2
—
Fowls
died un-
diagnosed
—
—
1
—
—
1
—
1
—
—
—
—
2
Fowls lived
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
1
2
2
—
—
Survivors re-tested
with virus
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
No reaction. Immune.
Reacted and lived
partly immune.
Reacted and died.
—
—
A NEW DISEASE OF FOWLS IN INDIA
109
The virus contained in this material has been maintained for over a year at
the laboratory by passage occasionally through fowls, and the reactions exhibited
in fowls injected with it have been identical in every respect with those provoked by
mouth-washings.
REPRODUCTION OF THE DISEASE.
A very large number of healthy fowls has been utilized during the course of the
work undertaken at this Institute, but examination of 113 records of birds used in
a series of 56 direct passages, where virus in the form of filtered mouth-washings
was employed, will serve as an indication as to the extent to which country-bred
fowls are susceptible to this affection. The number of fowls actually used in this
series was greater than 113, but all records of fowls which were destroyed in the
course of the experiments for various reasons, and where complications interfered
with the normal progress of the disease, have been excluded from the present note.
The results of experimental observation upon these 113 fowls may be summarised
as follows:—
Reacted and died
96 fowls or 85.0 per cent.
Reacted and recovered
11 fowls or 9.7 per cent.
No appreciable
reaction
6 fowls or 5.3 per cent.
The following Table shows the days after virus injection on which the 96 fowls
referred to above first exhibited symptoms, and the days also on which death
occurred.
—
Number of fowls showed first symptoms .
Number of fowls died
.
0
0*
0*
1
0
0
2
12
2
3
30
20
4
30
24
Days after injection of virus
5
15
17
6
3
9
7
2
8
8
0
3
9
0
2
10
2
3
11
1
3
12
0
2
13
0
0
14
1
0
15
0
1
16
0
1
17
0
0
18
0
0
19
0
1
20
0
0
It will be seen from the above table that in artificial infection the incubation
period is between 2 and 14 days although by far the largest number of birds
developed the disease within 5 days of inoculation, so that virtually the incubation
period can be said ordinarily to be from three to five days, since only seven fowls
showed a " delayed reaction " from the 6th to 14th days, and the 12 reactions
which occurred as early as the second day nearly all took place at one period
during the sub-inoculations, indicating a distinct increase in virulence at that time
due to rapid passage. The average period of incubation was just over 3½ days.
* 10th day, or day of injection of virus.
Average (1) incubation period, 3.55 days; (2) duration of illness, 1.55 days.
110 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ I, II
Death occurred in most cases almost immediately the first symptoms were
shown, that is, on the same day or only one day later. Two birds thus died on the
second day, and the largest number died on the 3rd and 4th day after injection.
The periods of recognisable illness before death occurred are given in the follow-
ing table, which shows that death occurred on the day the first symptoms were
exhibited in nearly one-third of the fowls; in over one-third it occurred only one
day later, and the maximum duration was 10 days. The average duration of
recognisable illness in the 96 fowls therefore amounted to only just over one-and
a-half days.
Death
On day of first symptoms .
1 day later
2 days later
3 „
4 „
5 „
6 „
7 „
8 „
9 „
10 „
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Total
Number of
fowls
30
35
12
8
3
3
1
1
2
0
1
96
Total
days
0
35
24
24
12
15
6
7
16
0
10
149
Average duration of illness, 1.55 days.
The eleven birds which showed a definite reaction and recovered exhibited
symptoms as follows:—
—
Day of first symptoms
Duration of symptoms in days
....
1
—
1
2
—
1
3
1
2
4
—
2
5
5
1
6
4
1
7
1
-
8
—
—
9
—
—
10
—
3
A NEW DISEASE OF FOWLS IN INDIA
111
SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE.
The nature of the reaction exhibited after artificial infection is illustrated in
charts Nos. 1 to 8. From these it will be seen that the birds remain apparently
unaffected until suddenly the temperature drops to a marked degree; the fowls
then become very dull, go off their feed and die often before any further symptoms
are exhibited. The fall in temperature was the most striking and characteristic
symptom of the disease, although in a few instances this was immediately preceded
by an elevation in the temperature, as illustrated in charts Nos. 6 and 7.
Occasionally birds died suddenly before any apparent disturbance in the tempera-
ture curve was exhibited, as illustrated in chart No. 4. Chart No. 9 is that of a
fowl which contracted the disease naturally while under observation at Muktesar,
and is included for comparison. It will be seen from this chart that the symptoms
of the naturally contracted disease are very similar in all essential details to those
observed in the artificially induced infection.
Symptoms which were exhibited inconstantly, and which are seen usually, it is
understood, in the disease as it occurs under natural conditions, are marked respira-
tory distress, without, as is noted below, any post-mortem pathological lesion in
the lungs; a profuse discharge from the beak and nares associated with a very
offensive odour arising from decomposition of the contents of the crop; diarrhœa;
marked weakness of the limbs so that affected fowls are unable to keep on their
legs, and in chronic cases inco-ordination of the head and neck is seen. This last
symptom has been observed in a few fowls which have recovered from the disease.
They stand with the head bent backwards, often appearing to be normally at rest
with the head under the wing but when disturbed the head and neck are raised and
marked inco-ordination is exhibited, the head being waved in the air with irregular
circular motions. With extreme difficulty birds are then able to pick up food, but
nevertheless birds which have otherwise recovered have been kept under observation
at this Institute for many weeks exhibiting this disability to a very marked degree.
Paralysis otherwise has not been observed to be a marked symptom in experi-
mentally induced Ranikhet disease in fowls.
POST-MORTEM APPEARANCES.
Except for an excessive quantity of saliva, or exudate, in the buccal and
pharyngeal region, associated with a highly disagreeable odour, and possibly
emaciation in the more prolonged cases, the only lesions that can be referred to as
characteristic of the disease are discrete petechiae or ecchymoses found typically
in the submucosa of the proventriculus, but also occurring occasionally in other
positions in the digestive tract and very rarely in other organs, such as the lungs and
peritoneum. A localized catarrhal enteritis is not infrequently seen in one or other
of the following positions; duodenum, caeca or cloaca. In the most acute and
D
112
THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
[ I, II
rapidly fatal cases the carcase upon post-mortem examination often appears
indistinguishable from that of a healthy fowl. The most striking fact is the
complete absence of any recognisable lesion in the lungs of birds which have
exhibited perhaps extreme respiratory distress during life.
CONTROL MEASURES.
Research work undertaken at this Institute under the above head has been
confined almost entirely to the laboratory, and the application of control measures
in natural outbreaks of the disease has not yet been attempted on any large scale by
us.
In view of the tenacious nature of the viability of the virus, it is remarkable
that the disease was controlled with both speed and effectiveness in the two
outbreaks which occurred last year upon the farm of the United Provinces Poultry
Association at Lucknow, referred to earlier in this paper. The flock on this farm
comprised as many as 1,300 valuable pedigree birds, and were it not for the prompt
and energetic measures adopted by Mrs. Fawkes-Ansell, the Secretary of the Associa-
tion, in combating the outbreaks, the percentage of mortality amongst the birds
exposed to infection would doubtless have run to a high figure. Yet the measures
consisted only in destruction of the fowls exhibiting symptoms, addition of
permanganate of potash or iodine to the drinking water and food of all non-affected
birds, and the liberal use of phenyle compounds in the houses and pens. Upon both
occasions the disease was stamped out immediately, with the loss only of the affected
birds sacrificed. Experiments have recently been carried out in this Institute
upon the possibility of controlling the disease by the application of (1) serum
derived from fowls that had recently recovered from the artificially induced disease ;
(2) serum prepared from donkeys injected with "Ranikhet disease virus" and
(3) vaccine prepared from organs of diseased fowls.
(1) The results of a preliminary test with the fowl serum are shown in the
following table:—
Fowl
No.
30
31
32
33
34
35
}
}
}
Serum
5 c. c.
2 c. c.
Nil
(Controls)
{
{
{
Days of
symptoms
? 4th
4th to 8th
5th to 9th
7th
4th
4th
Result
Lived. Re-tested, 59th day,
? reacted—
Lived.
Recovered. Died 60th day, ? relapse.
Recovered. Died 50th day of Debility.
Died 9th day.
Died 4th day.
Died 7th day.
A NEW DISEASE OF FOWLS IN INDIA
113
A further test upon the immunizing effect of serum derived from recovered
fowls has just been completed at the moment of writing this paper (January 1930),
and the results of this test are summarized in the table below. In all cases the
birds were injected with virus 24 hours after the injection of serum.
Dose of serum
10 c.c. .
5 c.c.
2.5 c c. .
Nil (controls) .
Fowl No.
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
520
521
519
518
Reaction
Just appreciable fall in
temperature on 2nd day
only.
3rd day
4th day
5th day
5th day
Day of
death
All
survived,
4th night
5th day
5th night
7th night
Result
Immun.
All fully susceptible.
The records of the ten fowls used in the above test are represented in the com-
posite chart No. 10, which shows that a slight but distinct fall in temperature—
apparently indicating a reaction—occurred on the second day after virus was in-
jected.
(2) In view of the distinctly positive results following the use of fowl serum,
the completely negative results obtained when attempting to produce an anti-serum
upon a large scale from donkeys has been very disappointing. In 1926, an anti¬
serum derived in a similar manner from donkeys had been found by the writer to
be of some value against spirochaetosis of fowls (due to Spiroehaeta anserina). In
the present series of experiments, in spite of the encouraging fact that a distinct
reaction occurred in the donkeys, even when filtered mouth-washings alone were
given intravenously as virus, the serum derived from these animals proved to be of
no value whatever when tested as to its protective value upon fowls against " Rani¬
khet disease " virus.
(3) A vaccine was prepared from organs of diseased fowls after treatment with
chloroform, on the lines introduced by Kelser [1928] as a protective agent against
D 2
A NEW DISEASE OF FOWLS IN INDIA
115
below that, while fowls that had recovered from an attack of " Ranikhet
disease" were solidly immune to each of the other two viruses, healthy fowls
were fully susceptible to them. Conversely, fowls that had recovered from an
artificially induced attack of "Newcastle disease" proved fully resistant to the
virus of "Ranikhet disease".
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF BIRDS OTHER THAN FOWLS TO INDIAN, ENGLISH AND PHILIP¬
PINE VIRUSES.
At the time of completing the writing of this paper, the results of inoculating
pigeons with the three viruses referred to above are becoming apparent. The
reaction exhibited is similar to that occurring in fowls, except that in the pigeons
now under observation paralysis of the legs and wings is an extremely well marked
symptom.
It is hoped that it will be possible to submit an addendum to this paper
detailing the final results of injection of the viruses into pigeons as well as into
some other birds.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.
1. The disease described in this paper was first recognised in India in 1927.
2. It is an acute, usually non-febrile, contagious and highly infective disease of
fowls, caused by a filter-passing virus and characterised by respiratory distress and
high mortality.
3. Reports have frequently been received of heavy mortality occurring amongst
the crow population of infected localities.
4. The incubation period in the artificially produced disease is ordinarily from
3 to 5 days, but may be as short as 2 days or delayed until the 6th or 7th, and
exceptionally even the 14th day.
5. The duration of recognisable illness in the artificially produced disease is
usually extremely short, averaging only 1½ days, but the period may extend to
ten days.
6. Ninety-five per cent. of Indian country bred fowls used in transmission
experiments proved to be susceptible to the virus and only ten per cent. of the
affected animals survived.
7 Except for the occurrence of petechiae in the submucosa of the proventiculus,
post-mortem lesions of diagnostic value are almost entirely absent.
8. Emulsion of internal organs stored unpreserved in a refrigerator have been
proved to retain their infectivity for periods extending to 169 days.
116
THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ I, II
9. Serum obtained from recovered fowls is protective against the disease, but
serum produced from donkeys proved to have no protective value.
10. A few attempts were made to prepare a vaccine suitable for employment
against the disease, but they were unsuccessful.
11. The disease had been shown to be immunologically identical by cross-
immunity tests with both " Newcastle disease " in England and " Avian pest " in
the Philippine Islands.
REFERENCES.
Cooper (1927). Proc. World's Poultry Congress, Ottawa, Canada, 1927, pp. 321—322.
Cooper (1929). Ann. Report Impl. Inst. Vet. Research, Muktesar, year ending 31st March, 1929, p.14.
Doyle (1927). Jl. Comp. Path. and Therap. 40. 144—169.
Edwards (1928). Ann. Report Impl. Inst. Vet. Research, Muktesar, year ending 31st March 1928, pp.
14—15.
Kelser (1928). Phillip. Jour. Sci. 36, 373—395.
Lagrange (1929). Bull. Soc. Path. Exot. 22. 64—68.
Ochi and Hashimoto (1929). Sixth Report Govt. Inst. Vet. Res., Fusan, Chosen, Japan, p. 16.
Picard (1928). Vet. Bull., 45.
Rodier, (1928). Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol., 25. Extr. in Contr. f. Bakt. Ref. Bd. 92.