NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
VACCINATION.
95
all ropes, &c., employed should be burned and chains treated as
already noted. The carcass too, should have the mouth, trunk, and
anus plugged with tow or old cloth to prevent, as far as possible,
any soiling of the ground over which it is dragged. Whenever pos-
sible it is a good plan to dig a deep pit alongside the body; when
completed the carcass should be tumbled in. There should be at
least 4 feet of earth over the body.
Anthrax graves should be fenced in with rough logs, or marked
in some special way in order to prevent animals grazing over them,
or grass-cutters cutting grass in their vicinity. And here I may add
a caution: Burmans, as is well known, are partial to elephant flesh ;
it is therefore necessary to warn them of the extreme danger of eating
anthrax-infected flesh.
Vaccination.
I have been questioned so frequently with regard to vaccination
that I have mentioned the subject in detail more for information
than with any intention of recommending it. By the practice of
protective vaccination the heavy mortality has in certain countries,
France, &c., been reduced to less than i per cent. Two inocula-
tions are necessary. The first is a weak vaccine. This is followed
in from 12 to 15 days by a second, which is stronger. The second
vaccine matter must never be used before the first, for the second
might kill unless the animal had been protected by the first.
The vaccinal liquid is sent out in glass tubes, sealed by rubber
stoppers, and bear labels "First vaccine matter" or "Premier
vaccin charbonneux," usually a red label, and "Second vaccine
matter," or "Deuxième vaccin charbonneux," white label. A note
is printed on the second vaccine label to the effect that it should be
employed 12 days after the first. The vaccine is introduced under
the skin by means of a Pravaz or other special hypodermic syringe ;
behind the ear is about the best place to inoculate an elephant.
The elephant having been made to assume the recumbent posture,
the hands of the operator must first be thoroughly washed with
soap and warm water, and then disinfected, as also the site selected
for inoculation, this completed, a portion of the skin is to be taken
up between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, the needle
carefully introduced beneath the skin and the contents of syringe
injected without force. The metallic wire is removed from the
needle and the latter adjusted on the syringe, or the needle may
be introduced first and syringe adjusted after. After the con-
tents of the tube have been well shaken the stopper is removed
96
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS.
and the required amount withdrawn. Care must be taken to
see that the syringe is working properly. Air bubbles may be
removed by holding the syringe upright and gently pressing the
piston till a drop issues from the needle. The second inoculation
should be made on the opposite side. It is a matter of vital import-
ance that the vaccine be introduced in a pure state; for this
reason, if a tube be opened, the contents must be used forthwith.
If the whole contents cannot be employed at once, the portion
remaining must be dispensed with. It is of equal importance that
the syringe be absolutely clean. New syringes are generally safe
enough, but one that has been used must be cleaned immediately
after the inoculations are performed. In order to effect this, the
syringe is taken to pieces, placed in water, and boiled in it for 5 or
10 minutes. Immediately before use it is as well to draw up some
absolute alcohol, this will render syringe and needle sterile. Cheap
and easily sterilized syringes are procurable from most instrument
makers. If the vaccine be not pure, or the syringe not clean, foreign
organisms may be introduced, which may render vaccination ineffec-
tive, or, what is still more serious, may give rise to virulent blood-
poisoning.
Every care must be taken to see that the first vaccine is properly
introduced under the skin; for, if this operation be performed
hurriedly 6r carelessly, no protection will be afforded and death
may result after the introduction of second vaccine.
There is no denying that vaccination is attended with certain
risks, owing to defects in the operation, quality of the vaccine
employed, and susceptibility of individuals. In sheep and cattle
vaccination has in some cases resulted in death; in others serious
illness, swellings, have followed the operation.
On the Continent the accidents vaccination gives rise to are said
not to be so frequent as to cause much alarm. Generally speaking the
animals inoculated become sufficiently protected to resist natural and
even experimental infection. It is stated that vaccine sent to a long
distance is not easy to preserve, and in order to obtain really good
results it must be used as soon as possible after preparation.
Firms having an interest in, or owning a large number of elephants,
and desirous of trying experiments should make some arrangement
by which they could on despatch of telegraphic order be supplied
with fresh vaccine, syringes, &c. All information and appliances
can be obtained from the Director of "The Sociètè du vaccin
Charbonneux Pasteur," 14, Rue des Pyramides, Paris.
Arrangements can be made for each tube to contain sufficient vac-
cine for one elephant. The price of a dose of first and second vaccine
is, I believe, 4d. to 6d.
VACCINATION.
97
With reference to vaccination in sheep and cattle, Koch has noted
the following points :—
(a) That if the vaccines are too strong, they may cause fatal
charbon.
(b) If they are too feeble, they do not protect.
(c) That they do not confer immunity without rendering the
animal seriously ill, and that they are consequently
dangerous.
(d) That vaccination may serve to disseminate by rendering
animals severely ill from that disease, during which
illness they are capable of infecting others.
(e) That the immunity conferred is insufficient to preserve
with certainty from natural infection.
(f) That the immunity conferred is of too short duration.
Protective vaccination against anthrax amongst elephants was
tried in Burma during the early eighties. Unfortunately the records
regarding the experiments are very meagre; from those available
I find that my predecessor, at the request of the Conservator of
Forests, Pegu Circle, inoculated two Government elephants (one
full grown and one young animal) on the 7th September 1883, also
two cow calves, one buffalo calf, two sheep, one pony and a pig
with Pasteur's first vaccine. The temperature of these animals,
with one exception, a sheep, was slightly affected, the sheep show-
ing a rise died on seventh day after inoculation from anthrax. On
the 23rd the second vaccine was injected. None of the animals
showed a rise in temperature over one degree. One elephant had a
swelling at seat of inoculation, the elephants were removed to jungle
on tenth day after inoculation. The Conservator of Forests would
not agree to the proposal to test the efficacy of the inoculation
by inoculating with virulent anthrax virus, owing to the great value
of the animals. The pony, sheep and pig were inoculated and no
ill-effects followed ; two unprotected rabbits inoculated with same
material, died of anthrax within 36 hours. On the 2nd May twelve
elephants, the property of contractors, were inoculated at Zigôn
with first vaccine.
On the 15th only nine elephants were brought forward, they each
received an injection of second vaccine. One elephant had a
swelling at seat of previous inoculation. I regret I cannot trace the
further history of these animals.
I believe that the Bombay-Burma Trading Corporation inoculat-
ed many elephants about the same time and from what I have heard
the results were not encouraging so much so that no further in-
oculations have been carried out since.
13
98
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS.
Curative treatment.—With regard to medicinal treatment, the
Pharmacopœa has been ransacked, but so far the success attending
the use of drugs has not been great. The latest treatment recom-
mended by J. H. Bell, of Georgetown, Demarara, and reported in the
Veterinary Record of 21st October 1899, is Formalin. Mr. Bell
reports that out of 28 head of cattle treated, 22 recovered ; of the six
that died Mr Bell states " we had no hopes of four, and the remain-
" ing two, I think, died of having too much Formalin. We found
"a (20 minim) solution Formalin (1 in 1,000) injected into the
" anthracoid swelling in the region of the jaw had the most satisfac-
tory effect. In from 12 to 36 hours the swelling had practically
" disappeared. The injection was used morning and evening for three
" days, and then once daily for three days. A draught of oleum
" cinnamon (1 drachm) aqua ad (one pint) was also administered
" daily for three days." Mr. Bell remarks that success in a great
measure depends on getting cases early. Formalin is a cheap
drug, and can be obtained in Rangoon. Mr. Bell's report is most
encouraging, and the treatment is of easy application. Hypodermic
syringes are necessary ; and should be of a pattern easily sterilized.
The needle of the syringe should be inserted well into the swelling,
the contents gently injected, and the needle carefully withdrawn.
This treatment is well worthy of a trial, and I trust those firms owning
large numbers of elephants will encourage their assistants to try it
and submit reports. Recently I tried this treatment in two severe
cases of anthrax in ponies, but it proved unsuccessful.
Various methods of treatment have been advocated, from which
I have selected those considered likely to prove best which I
append :—Hyposulphite of soda 4 to 6 ounces mixed with jaggery,
two or three times a day, or carbolic acid 2 drachms, glycerine ½
an ounce, added to two pints of water, twice a day, or pure iodine ½
a drachm, iodide of potash 2 drachms, mixed with jaggery may
be given twice a day. If the animal cannot be persuaded to take
these, the rectum must be emptied by hand and an enema of
carbolic acid 2 drachms, glycerine 1 ounce, warm water four pints,
injected every four hours.
Also hypodermic injection—carbolic acid 1 drachm, glycerine
1 ounce. A small incision should be made through the skin and the
needle inserted.
Local.—The tumours should be cut into deeply and extensively
by a cross incision, freely cauterized with pure carbolic acid and
dressed with carbolic lotion (1 in 40), and on redressing the soiled
dressings must be placed in a receptacle (never on the ground) and
burned under supervision. The receptacle must then be thoroughly
cleansed with carbolic solution (1 in 40).
POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION—APPEARANCES OF CARCASS. 99
Post-mortem examination.
It is desirable to perform this operation only when it is imper-
ative to establish diagnosis in a suspicious case. No good can other-
wise accrue, but on the other hand much harm may be done by
soiling hands, cloths, and the surrounding ground.
Before undertaking this operation it must be understood that no
attendants on healthy animals should be permitted to handle the
carcass or instruments. Some persons who are not likely to
come in contact with healthy animals should be selected, and in
Burma at least there is no difficulty about this. The men chosen
must be inspected carefully, and no one with abrasions or scratch-
es, however trivial, on the skin in any part should be permitted to
take on the work. They should be made to rub themselves with
carbolic oil (1 to 20), and solutions of carbolic acid (1 to 40) should
be at hand to cleanse without delay any cut or wound which may
occur accidentally. Any such cut must be dressed and the man
forbidden to continue work.
After the operation the men engaged must be compelled to
wash their bodies, and especially hands and feet, with carbolic lotion
(1 in 60 or 70), or weak phenyle lotion. Any clothes worn by them
had better be burned and their scanty wants in this direction renew-
ed by the employers. All instruments used must be washed in carbo-
lic lotion (1 in 40) and boiled before being restored to their cases.
And here 1 may remark that all instruments employed in any post
mortem, whether anthrax or anything else, must be kept locked up,
and on no account be made use of in any surgical case, as, for
instance, opening an abscess. Care must be taken not to scatter
organs or blood about the place, but to restrict the infected area
to the smallest limits. A pit should be prepared alongside and the
carcass tumbled in. The soiled area should be well sprinkled with
carbolic powder or other strong disinfectant, the ground dug up and
thrown into the pit, a layer of straw should then be spread all over
the ground and fired.
Appearances of carcass.
The belly is usually greatly inflated, bloody discharge may be
noticed from the natural openings, decomposition sets in rapidly
swellings may be present beneath the skin.
The blood is of a dark, tarry, and fluid character, often staining
the cavities of the heart and interior of the blood vessels a peculiar
red tinge. Any of the organs or all, namely, liver, spleen, kidneys,
100
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS.
lungs, brain, may be found engorged with blood, and their substance
softened, and the spleen especially is often found enormously en-
larged. In one case it weighed 62½ lbs. The cavities, that is, the
abdomen, chest, heart-bag, and cranial, may contain blood-stained
fluid, and the lining membranes have scattered over them purplish
blood spots or blotches. The bowels may be thickened, their con-
tents bloody, and the lining membrane scattered over with purplish
blood spots or patches.
The tumours above referred to consist of a yellowish greengage
jelly-like material, which may have a dark centre and may be found
in other parts, notably in the mesentery, or membrane connecting
the bowels to the spine, around the kidneys, furrows of the heart,
about the throat and other places, and when present may be taken
as very indicative of anthrax.
The following cases are recorded by Frost:—
" Post mortem on an elephant belonging to the Commissariat
Department, Rangoon. Died at 4-30 P.M. on the 25th of June
1878, after an illness of two days.
" Body well nourished and muscles of healthy hue. On removing
the right fore-limb, my attention was at once drawn to the peculiar
jelly-like deposit found in cases of anthrax. This deposit existed
to a considerable extent in the connective tissue of the chest,
muscles, and between the shoulder-blade and the ribs. In parts the
deposit was of a yellowish white and in others of a rosy hue.
" Before commencing my examination of the body, and when con-
versing with Colonel Hawkes, Executive Commissariat Officer, I was
told that amongst other symptoms exhibited by the animal was a
small tumour in the region of the left parotid gland. I had the body
turned in order to examine the tumour. On removing the skin
covering the enlargement, a true anthracoid tumour presented itself.
The same jelly-like exudate occupied a space of about 8 inches by
6 inches.
" The blood in the veins was of a dark, tarry consistence and
colour and in almost all the veins a certain degree of coagulation
had taken place. Only the normal quantity of fluid in the abdominal
cavity. Peritoneum healthy, mesentery congested. Spleen of a
dark colour with considerable bloody spots and blotches all over its
surface. The same deposit alluded to before existed between the
layer of membrane attaching it to the stomach. On removing the
spleen from the body I found it weighed 37½ lbs. On cutting
into its structure, and on withdrawing the scalpel, the blade had
adhering to it a thick layer of blood as dark as ink. The gland
could easily be broken down by pressure of the finger.
APPEARANCES OF CARCASS.
101
" On the under surface of the stomach, close to the pyloric orifice,
I found a patch of the size of a dinner plate consisting of the same
kind of deposit as I noticed in the tumour. In the tissue under the
loins I also found the same thing to exist. Above the penis
another large tumour was found.
" Intestines and kidneys healthy. There was a slight deposit in
the substance of a lung which, to a certain extent, blocked up the
bronchial tubes. A large quantity of- frothy mucus was found in
the windpipe and large bronchi, yet there was no symptom of
breathlessness noticed before death.
' On laying open the pericardium (bag of the heart) my attention
was arrested by the large quantity of fluid which was contained in the
sac. From a careful but rough calculation, I came to the conclu-
sion that it contained from 35 to 40 ounces of serum, possessing
more the colour of venous blood slightly diluted with water than
true serum. The external surface of the heart presented a pecu-
liar appearance. Intensely dark blood spots studded its surface-
some of the size of a rupee, others the size of an eight-anna piece,
and others still smaller; these were particularly numerous on the
right auricle.
" The horizontal and vertical grooves of the heart were filled with
peculiar jelly-like deposit. Large clots in right heart and pulmo-
nary artery and none in left. Although it is a remarkable fact that
in anthrax the blood is generally found in a fluid state, I did not
find this to be the case in the present instance. There was no un-
pleasant odour from the body, although the post mortem did not
take place until 15 hours after death."
These are the leading post mortem appearances noticed by me.
Post mortem No. 2 on an elephant that died at 10 A.M., 29th of
June 1878, after two days' illness. Body examined seven hours
after death ; in good condition. On each side of the penis, about
the region of the scrotum in other animals, I found two large tu-
mours of the true anthrax character. Further, with the exception of
the intestinal mucous membrane I did not notice anything pecu-
liar. The mucous membrane of the intestines was highly congest-
ed. The blood in the vessels was fluid. Spleen weighed 24 lbs.,
liver 61½. I saw this animal at 9-30 A.M. (while still alive) and
examined the tumours. They were cold as ice, and on cutting into
them no pain was exhibited by the animal, nor did any discharge
take place subsequent to the incision being made. Once I saw
the nature of the effusion, I had no doubt of the result, which was
death soon after.
102
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS.
Elephant-pox.
This is a specific fever characterized by eruptions somewhat
similar to small-pox in man, but there is no evidence to prove that
it is communicated from man or vice versâ. These eruptions begin
as pimples, then become blebs or blisters, with clear fluid contents.
Later the contents consist of matter. Finally they burst, leaving
sores which tend to scab.
Prognosis.—Good, especially in adults.
Symptoms.—Fever, with its attendant signs as mentioned un-
der that condition and the eruptions above alluded to. I have seen
only one case, namely, at Pakôkku. This animal came in from the
direction of Gangaw. He was reported sick immediately on arrival.
The mahout stated that the elephant had been out of sorts for
some days, when suddenly this 'heat' eruption appeared; also that
the animal was weak and listless. The elephant was in good condi-
tion, but his forehead, trunk, mouth, chest and shoulders, and a few
places on the rump were covered with an eruption which had then
arrived at the pustular stage.
Treatment (preventive).—As laid down under anthrax, i.e., segre-
gation, &c.
Curative (general).—As laid down for fever.
Local—Cleanliness, washing with weak disinfectants such as
carbolic acid, or phenyle (1—60) and afterwards dressing with car-
bolized oil (see Appendix No. 121), camphorated oil 122. All soiled
dressings must be treated as in cases of anthrax, namely, be burned.
Surra.
Definition.—A specific and continuous fever due to the presence
in the blood of an infusorian. Surra is a Hindustani word meaning
rotten.
Period of incubation in mules, &c., from one month to seventy
days.
Prevalence.—"The distribution of this malady seems to be
entirely influenced by the physical aspect of the country, being
far more prevalent in those parts where floods and inundations
occur than in the higher and drier portions"—(Pease). In many
districts of this province notably the Upper Chindwin, Pakôkku,
Mogôk, Katha, and Bhamo, this disease causes heavy losses amongst
mules and ponies every year. It is most prevalent between June
and November, although cases are to be met with at all times of
the year.
SURRA.
103
Sources of infection.—(a) Grain contaminated by the excrement
of rats, mice, and bandicoots. Lingard and others have demonstrated
the presence of the infusorian in the blood of many of these crea-
tures.
(b) Sedgy vegetation from recently inundated country, stagnant
pools, swamps, also water from such localities.
(c) Certain flies may carry the disease from infected to healthy
animals.
The infusorian.—When a drop of surra blood is examined under
the microscope, if the parasites are present, there will be observed
a very peculiar intermittent quivering of the blood, if the specimen
be watched we may soon see one or more minute thread-like
organisms with eel-like movements emerge from the mass and
wriggle slowly or actively across the field, sometimes one or more
may be seen pulling a blood cell across the field. The infusorian
is not continuously present in the blood, being absent during the
intermissions so that it is a good plan to examine the blood morn-
ing and evening for a few days in suspected cases.
Symptoms.—The disease "is characterized by an intermittent, re-
mittent, and sometimes a relapsing type of fever which continues
for varying periods from a few days to months according to the
species and the constitutions of the animals attacked" (Lingard).
The pulse during the paroxysm is generally fast and strong and
during the intermissions is about normal, as the strength fails so
the pulse becomes feeble and thready. The respiration is as a
rule not much altered. The mucous membranes in the early stages
are usually pale but later take on a yellowish muddy tinge, that
of the eyes is frequently blotched with mulberry-coloured blood
spots.
The bowels are generally constipated, at times covered with
slime and towards the end of the disease there may be diarrhœa.
The urine as the disease progresses becomes viscid and sometimes
of a greenish colour. One very remarkable feature about surra is,
that no matter how high the fever may be, the appetite is invariably
good, often voracious, throughout the course of the disease, but in
spite of this fact there is a rapid and progressive loss of condi-
tion and great weakness. The blood undergoes profound changes,
thus directly interfering with the proper nutrition of the tissues.
There is marked debility and prostration and, as the disease ad-
vances, we often meet with dropsical swellings of the limbs and
lower parts of the chest and abdomen.
Duration of disease.—The disease is divided into paroxyms and
intermissions, the periods of intermission are short, being of two
or three days' duration or less. The paroxysms last from two to