NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
210
INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, II
(64) Slonaker and Card. Ibid., 203-209.
(65) Wan, S., and Wu, H. Chinese J. Physiol, 1931, 5, 53-70.
(66) Slonaker, J. R. Amer. J. Physiol. 1931, 97, 573-580.
(67) Frei, W. Arch. f. Gynäkol., 1931, 147, 836-852.
(68) Courrier, R., and Raynaud, R. C. R. Soc. Biol., 1932, 109, 881-883.
(69) Orr, J. B., and others. Scot. J. Agric., 1925, 8, 66-69.
(70) Prentice, J. H. Agric. Progress, 1931, 8, 19-23.
(71) Robertson, G. S. J. Minist. Agric. (N. Ireland), 1931, 3, 1-5.
(72) Verzar, F. Ztschr. f. Vitaminforsch., 1932, 1, 116-134.
(73) Wolfe, J. M., and Salter, H. P. J. Nutrition, 1931. 4, 185-192.
(74) Mason, K. E. J. Exp. Zool., 1931, 55, 101-122.
(75) Evans, H. M. Amer. J. Physiol., 1932, 99, 477-486.
(76) Moore, C. R., and Samuels, L. T. Ibid., 1931, 96, 278-288.
(77) Velu, H. Bull. Acad. Vet. de France, 1931, 4, 71-81.
(78) Graves, R. R., and Miller, F. W. Rep. Bur. Dairy Indust., U. S. Dept. Agric., 1927.
(79) Rogers, L. A. Rep. Bur. Dairy Indust., U. S. Dept. Agric., 1928.
(80) Vogt-Mφller, P., and Bay, F. Vet. J., 1931, 87,165-170.
(81) Frei, W. Schw. Arch . f. Tierheilk., 1932, 74, No. 2.
(82) Frei, W. Münch. Tierärztl. Wochenschr., 1932, 83, 1-5, 13-18.
(83) Abelin, I. Biochem. Ztschr., 1931, 242, 335-410 ; 411-423.
(84) Polowzow, W., and Naguzew, W. D. Ztschr. f. Tierzüchtung, 1929, 13, 395.
(85) Parchutin, G. W. Prakt. Vet., 1929, 7-8, 670.
(86) Nordby, J. E., and Bollen, W. B. Cornell Vet., 1930, 20, 381.
(87) Williams, W. L. Vet. Med., 1932, 27, 271, 280.
(88) Smith, E. J. Biol. Chem., 1917, 29, 215-225.
(89) Stiner. Bull d. eidgenöss. Gesundheitsamtes, 1924, 6, 23.
(90) Schropp. Quoted by Crichton, J. A. J. Dairy Res., 1930, 2, 1-37.
(91) Müller-Lenhartz and v. Wendt. ' Die Höchste Milchleistung ', Berlin, 1929.
ABSTRACTS
The anthelmintic value of kamala for tapeworms in chickens. REBRASSIER, R. E.
Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. N. S. Vol. 33, 895—903 (1932).
The author has, at the outset, given a historical review of the various remedies that have been
so far suggested for the removal of tapeworms from, chickens. Although kamala has been used in
these cases since 1926 the results obtained by various clinicians have been inconsistent; experi-
ments have therefore been undertaken to determine the anthelmintic value of this widely used drug
in cases of 128 chickens of about one year age infected with Davuinea proglottina, Choanotænia
infundibuliformis, Rallietina cesticiltus and Hymenolepis carioca.
Twenty-seven chickens were used in experiment No. I, out of which 10 were infected. These
were given a dose of 7.5 grains of kamala each, but none of them were found to be completely free
from the tapeworms after their post-motem examination.
In experiment No. II 53 chickens were taken out of which 13 only were infected. In none
of those complete elimination was brought about by administration of 10 grains of kamala.
In experiment No. III 23 out of 48 were found to be infected. Each of these received 15
grains kamala. Only in three of these was the complete elimination effected, all the others
showing the presence of tapeworms after post-mortem examination.
These results indicate that kamala, in the dosage used, did not have high efficiency in remov-
ing tapeworms from chickens. [G. D. B.]
A comparison of carbon tetrachloride and tetrachlorethylene. RAWSON, G. W.
Jl. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc. 33, 600-603 (1932).
The author has tried to remove the common misunderstandings that prevail regarding tetrach-
lorethylene by quoting the experience of himself and some other authors.
It has a much higher boiling point than carbon tetrachloride; consequently there is less danger
of its causing asphyxiation even though the drug accidentally enters the trachea or the lungs.
According to Hanson it causes inhalation—intoxication in foxes, consequently it should be adminis-
tered in soft gelatin capsules and the patient closely watched to see that the capsule is successfully
swallowed.
Experimental evidence has shown that tetrachlorethylene has no appreciable effect on the
liver, whereas carbon tetrachloride does cause necrosis of the liver even though there may be no
external symptoms. According to Lamson, Robbins and Ward dizziness following the adminis-
tration of the drug is probably due to either exceptionally large doses or to the presence of oily or
fatty food in the gastro-intestinal tract at the time of the treatment. The latter should therefore
be avoided 24 hours before the administration of the drug and several hours after it.
Some writers are of opinion that tetrachlorethylene is dangerous in cases of calcium deficiency,
but the author's experience with sheep and goats and that of Minot, Lamson, Robbins, Ward and
Schingman with dogs and cats has not sustained this. Carbon tetrachloride, on the other hand,
does produce some ill effects and in some cases death.
( 211 )
ABSTRACTS
213
Minute forms may be dropped into hot water and left for a few moments, then transferred
with a pipette into cold fixative.
Staining.- The author obtained excellent results with alum cochineal upon the material
fixed in the manner described above.
After differentiation in acidulated alcohol the material should be washed in running water for
an hour, soaked for an hour in 50 per cent. alcohol, for another hour in P5 per cent. alcohol and
then transferred to becchwood creosote and mounted in creosote solution of Canada balam.
Sections may be stained in any of the four following stain combinations :—Delafield hæma-
toxylin and eosin, Delafield hamatoxylin and Safranin and picric acid, acid fuchsin and picro¬
indigo-carmine, eosin and picro-indigo-carmine.
The author in the end alludes briefly to the existing methods of tridimensional reconstruc-
tion from microtome sections, either by means of (a) wood, wax, clay, paper, celluloid, gelatin or
(b) graphs. [G. D. B.]
REVIEWS
The Veterinary Bulletin, Vol. III, Part I. Published by the Imperial Bureau of
Animal Health, Weybridge, Surrey, England. (Annual subscription £2.)
In Part IV, Volume I of the Indian Journal of Veterinary Science and Animal
Husbandry, a review was published of the first two numbers of the newly publish-
ed Veterinary Bulletin—the official organ of the Imperial Bureau of Animal
Health—and attention was drawn to the great need which had previously been
felt for such an abstracting journal, dealing with matters affecting the health of
domesticated animals in tropical as well as temperate climates. Part I of Volume
III of the Bulletin has now been received and as considerable modifications have
taken place, as a result of the experience acquired, it seems desirable to further
review this publication, the great value of which is now well established.
During the first year the Bulletin was issued quarterly but during the second
year issues were made at monthly intervals, and this policy is to be continued.
Adjustments have moreover been made in the lay-out of Volume III to allow of the
publication of a much larger number of abstracts than has hitherto been possible.
This increase in size indicates the increasing thoroughness with which the litera-
ture is being combed for relevant matter and this is further shown in the list,
covering the first 12 pages of the issue under review, of the publications which are
now being indexed and surveyed by the Imperial Bureau of Animal Health. A
study of this list shows that all the most important publications are now dealt
with, and it is clear that no worker who wishes to keep abreast of the very rapid
advance which is taking place in such matters can afford to be without this Bulletin.
The abstracts are moreover of sufficient length to give a clear idea of the impor-
tant points brought out in the articles reviewed and the Bulletin should be of
value to the field worker as well as to those engaged in laboratory research. The
print is clear and the make-up good and the producers and publishers are to be
congratulated on having achieved a notable addition to the literature of Animal
Health in this very compact and informative Bulletin. [A. O.]
Veterinary Obstetrics and Zootechnics, by HOWARD, N., and BEEMAN, D. V. M.
(Baillière, Tindall & Cox ; London). Price 15s.
The title of this book is somewhat misleading, when read by a veterinary
surgeon. One would imagine that, from a professional point of view, a veteri-
narian would be entitled to expect some account of abnormal aspects of parturi-
tion, but nothing of this nature is mentioned throughout the book.
( 214 )
REVIEW
215
The subject matter contained in the book is restricted to the discussion of
problems connected only with the horse breeding industry, and, so far as this
information goes, is a handy guide for those interested in the prevention of
disease in breeding establishments. This is the object of the book, as stated in
the Preface, and no comparison is made with, nor anything of interest mentioned
about other domestic animals with regard to their breeding and obstetrical
peculiarities, as one would be led to expect from the title.
The Anatomy and Physiology of the females genitalia, foetal membranes and
placenta, are discussed in the opening chapters in the usual manner, with
little to attract the attention of veterinarians possessing an average knowledge
of the subject. The remaining chapters are interesting and informative and deal
with the subjects of equine parturition, hygiene, care of the foal and dam, etc., in
detail, and are rich in useful information.
As a handy guide to veterinary horse masters, this publication is to be
highly commended, but as a book for veterinary surgeons who have of necessity to
deal with Obstetrics in all its normal and abnormal aspects, chiefly the latter, this
work loses much of its value. [W. T.]
216
INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, II
NOTES
THE MAYNARD-GANGA RAM PRIZE.
NOTICE.
Applications are invited for "The Maynard-Ganga Ram Prize " of the value
of Rs. 3,000 which will be awarded for a discovery, or an invention, or a new
practical method tending to increase agricultural production in the Punjab on a
paying basis. The prize is open to all, irrespective of caste, creed or nationality
and Government servants are also eligible for it. Essays and theses are not eligible
for competition and applicants should prove that some part of their discovery,
invention, etc., is the result of work done after the prize was founded in 1925. The
Managing Committee reserves to itself the right of withholding or postponing the
prize, if no satisfactory achievement is reported to it. All applications in competi-
tion for the next award should reach the Director of Agriculture, Punjab, Lahore,
on or before the 31st December, 1933.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
In 1925 the late Sir Ganga Ram, Kt., C.I. E., M.V.O., R. B., Lahore, with
that generosity for which he was so well known, handed over to the Punjab Govern-
ment a sum of Rs. 25,000 for the endowment of a prize of the value of Rs. 3,000
to be called the Maynard-Ganga Ram Prize and to be awarded every three years,
for a discovery, or an invention, or a new practical method which will tend to increase
agricultural production in the Punjab on a paying basis. The competition is open
to all throughout the world. Government servants are also eligible to compete for
it.
Applications for the next award were invited by the 31st December, 1932. The
response was, however, poor and it has been decided by the Managing Committee
of the above-mentioned prize that the award should be postponed for another
year and that further applications should reach the Director of Agriculture. Punjab,
Lahore, on or before the 31st December, 1933.
BIHAR AND ORISSA VETERINARY COLLEGE, PATNA.
A post-graduate class will be held at the Bihar and Orissa Veterinary College
as last year from 1st July, 1933, for the advanced training of Veterinary graduates
in (1) Pathology and Bacteriology including Parasitology and post-mortem tech-
nique, (2) Histology, (3) Veterinary Hygiene, Dietetics and Genetics, (4) Meat and
Milk inspection and (5) Veterinary Medicine including parasitic, contagious and
inanition diseases. The course will be for six months only, for which a sum of
Rs. 60 will be charged as tution fee and Rs. 10 as admission fee. Seat rent for the
hostel will be at the rate of Rs. 5 per month.
Private candidates desiring admission should apply to the Principal, Bihar and
Orissa Veterinary College on or before the 15th June, 1933 with the original
diploma and a certificate of character.
Further particulars, if required, may be obtained on application from the
Principal.
MGIPC-S3—III-1-74-24-6-33-900.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
THE ETIOLOGY OF BURSATI
BY
CAPTAIN S. C. A. DATTA, B.Sc., M.R.C.V.S.,
Temporary Veterinary Research Officer, Imperial Institute of Veterinary Research,
Muktesar.
(Received for publication on 27th May 1933.)
(With Plates XIV—XIX.)
INTRODUCTION.
The history of the disease condition of equines in India, commonly known as
Bursati, dates back for more than 100 years when Kerr [1829] published what
appears to be the first article on the subject. In the intervening period numerous
papers have appeared with the object of elucidating important aspects of the disease,
such as the etiology, pathology and treatment, but it is noteworthy that workers
as yet are not agreed as to the precise nature of the causal agent or the mechanism
of infection. The present investigation was, therefore, commenced at the suggestion
of Mr. F. Ware, F.R.C.V.S., I.V.S., Director of this Institute. Army officers were
circularized for specimens of Bursati tissue, and Veterinary authorities in different
countries, where allied conditions exist, were also addressed, as a result of which
some interesting information was collected from Australia, the Argentine, Greece
and Egypt. It may be stated here that in an earlier article entitled " Histopatho¬
logical Studies on 12 cases of Helminthic Granuloma of the Equine Skin", which
was read before the 20th Session of the Indian Science Congress, held in Patna in
January 1933, a preliminary note on the present investigation has already been
recorded.
With regard to the etiology of the condition, the views current at present may
be included in one or other of two well-defined hypotheses, viz. :—(1) that it is of
mycotic origin, being caused by some species of fungus which finds its way into the
horse's skin in a manner not yet understood; (2) that the disease is caused by
helminth parasites deposited in pre-existing sores by flies,
( 217 )
B
218 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [III, III.
Of these two theories, the former is the older, being first suggested by Jackson
[1842], but actual experimental data in support of this were only later put forward
by Smith [1884], Steel [1885], Burke [1892], and finally by Holmes [1914]. For
the purposes of this article, the work of the latter two workers only need be
recounted. In attempting to prove that this condition was an epithelioma, Burke
[1880-1888] most vehimently criticised the mycotic theory but again a few years
later [1892] he was emphatic that the disease was a form of actinomycosis. Holmes'
view was that it was a form of sporothricosis resembling a disease of the horse and
the mule described by Carougeau [1909] in Madagascar, since a chalky white growth,
resembling closely the fungus Sporotrichum minutissimum was repeatedly obtained
in culture by him from Bursati tumours, kunkurs, and direct from the blood of
horses affected with the disease. Experimental inoculations carried out by him
with cultures of this fungus yielded only negative results. As a result of a prelimi-
nary study of the condition in Calcutta in 1929, Datta [1931] also recorded certain
experimental data from which it appeared that the actinomycotic theory was the
more plausible, since a strain of actinomyces, resembling Holmes' culture in
morphology, was isolated without difficulty from Bursati lesions, and because the
disease could not be transmitted experimentally through the intervention of flies,
which were allowed free access between affected subjects and healthy equines, with
unprotected cutaneous wounds in various parts of the body. It may be noted that
another similar condition designated as ' leaches' affecting equines in America,
is considered by Theobald Smith [1893-94] as being caused by a fungus, similar
to that concerned in "Madura foot of India ", the yellow granules of the equine
disease being identical with what are called ' Sulphur granules' of actinomycosis.
With regard to Holmes' work, one cannot overlook the fact that he does not put
forward any mycological data on which the identification was based, for, there
is nothing in his description to indicate that the characteristic lateral spore-clusters
were observed with his fungus. Further if his theory were correct, one should
expect to find nodules spreading along the course of lymphatics with lymphangitis
and lymphadenitis, but it is known that these do not constitute the clinical features
of Bursati.
The helminthic theory was first put forward by Lingard [1905], who referred
to the presence of a " felted aggregation of nematode worms " in the inner layer
of a Bursati sore but, as Holmes has pointed out, " there is an indefiniteness about
Lingard's statements which fail to make clear whether personal observations were
being recorded or deduction made from the literature of other writers on the
subject". Further in questioning the identity of Lingard's " felted aggregation ",
Gaiger [1915] has adduced evidence to show that they represented, in reality,
THE ETIOLOGY OF BURSATI
219
merely muscle fibres. The latter worker would seem justified in this view, because
there is authentic evidence that such a mistake is not unknown and has actually
been made by other workers in the experience of the writer of this article. Again,
a confusion such as this seems probable when one remembers that Lingard may
have received a suggestion, regarding the possible occurrence of a nematode or its
debris in bursati tumours, from his knowledge of the description of similar structures
by Rivolta [1868] and Laulanie [1884] in connection with a similar condition in
Europe, viz.:—granular dermatitis.
The evidence in favour of the helminthic theory of Bursati in India may be
summarized as follows :—
(1) Careful investigations have shown that conditions clinically resembling
Bursati, viz.:—Summer Sores in Europe [Railliet and Henry, 1915; Spitz, 1920],
Swamp cancer in Australia [Bull, 1916 and 1919], Esponja in Brazil [Descazeaux,
1915] are set up by the larvæ of certain spiroptcrous worms (Habronema spp.),
which undergo a part of their life cycle in the bodies of flies (Musca domestica for
Habronema muscæ and H. megastoma, and Stomoxys calcitrans for H. microstoma) and
their normal adult life in the stomach of equines. [Hill, 1920.]
(2) As shown by Sen [1927], in a short review of the literature, there is strong
circumstantial evidence that larval worms of the same kind may be responsible for
the following reasons :—
(a) the abundance in India of Musca domestica and Stomaxys calcitrans, the
vectors of the parasites ;
(b) the widespread distribution of the worms themselves in the stomach of
equines; and
(c) the marked ' eosinophile infiltration' usually noticeable in bursati lesions
(indicative of verminous infection).
DESCRIPTION OF THE DISEASE.
In view of the fact that the information in text books and the periodical
literature is defective and incorrect in certain respects, a fresh description of the
disease seems necessary.
Bursati is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissue of
equines. The term Bursati is employed primarily for a disease of the Indian
Peninsula, including Burma, but the same term is employed also in such distant
countries as the United States of America and Egypt to denote what may be an
identical condition. In India, the disease is of common occurrence in the northern
parts but occasional cases have been met with in the Madras Presidency. Mules
B 2
220 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [III, III.
and horses are generally affected but donkeys are also susceptible. No breed of
horses appears to be exempt since the thin-skinned subjects, like Arabs and Walers,
are as predisposed to the condition as the coarser country-breds. It is on account
of the prolonged duration of the disease, its resistance to treatment, and recurrence
even after a deep excision that the condition has been likened by several workers
to cheloid, epithelioma and rodent ulcer. The statement by Lingard [1905] that
Bursati occurs in bovines lacks confirmation, and it may be that he obtained this
idea from the American literature on the subject. It is to be noted that reports
on the occurrence of Bursati in bovines in Egypt are available even in recent
administration reports from that country, but in the absence of proofs the condition
need not be considered as identical with the equine condition. Any causal relation-
ship of the rainy season with the disease, as the name suggests, has not been
proved, for, certain parts of India are known where the rains are excessive and
prolonged and Bursati is infrequent, but Nunn [ 1896 ] has observed that the
number of cases varies proportionately with the rain-fall in successive years. A
curious fact about the disease is its peculiar seasonal incidence. The onset of the
disease commences as early as April or May. It then continues unchecked in spite
of all possible methods of treatment until the end of October or the beginning of
November, when the disease tends to disappear spontaneously, or yields to the
mildest treatment. But the lesions in some cases persist even longer. The rainy
season has probably no more untoward effect on the course of this disease than
in the case of ordinary cutaneous wounds. The description of the microscopic
lesions of Bursati, illustrated by photographs, as given by Holmes [ 1914 ] is more
exact than those of the earlier workers, and for any reader, who may desire to see
representations of actual naked eye lesions, a reference to Plates I and II and Fig.
5 of Plate III of his Memoir is recommended. Again, P. A. Fish [1895-96] has
given an excellent historical sketch of the older Bursati literature and the same may
be perused with profit.
In the initial stage of the disease, an enlargement of uncertain size is noticed,
followed by loss of hair. It is important to remember that several workers (Adams,
Smith, Lingard and Holmes) have observed the disease to commence as a papule
or an intact tumour, and the last-mentioned even states :—" I can confirm the
correctness of Smith's observations that the primary lesion is a subcutaneous one
and that it is only in the secondary stage that the skin becomes involved ". To
quote another, '' the presence of kunkurs has been noticed before the formation
of an ulcer ". An exudative fluid is seen to accumulate in the diseased skin but
this contains very little cellular material and is not circumscribed. The enlarge-
ment appears to be due to deep-seated lesions, which gradually approach towards