NOTES OF PARASITOLOGICAL INTEREST
By M. ANANT NARAYAN RAO, G.M.V.C., Lecturer in Parasitology, Madras Veterinary College
(Received for publication on 31 March 1942)
(With Plate XVI)
IN the course of routine examination of materials
received for diagnosis in the department of Para-
sitology at the Veterinary College Laboratory,
Madras, several interesting specimens and cases
were met with, and the author takes the oppor-
tunity of recording some of those in these notes.
Schistosoma suis in dogs
Schistosomes have previously been recorded as
one of the causes of dysentery in the dog by
Swaminathan [1934], Rao and Ayyar [1935]
and Rao [1937]. Since then the author detected
in the faeces of another dog admitted into the
College Hospital, ova of schistosomes indistinguish -
able from those of Schistosoma suis [Rao and Ayyar,
1933]. This dog was treated intravenously with
sodium antimony tartarate and discharged as
apparently cured though the faeces contained very
few eggs. The same dog was readmitted about
six months later for nephritis to which it succumb-
ed. Even at that time its faeces contained a few
ova of schistosomes. A careful post-mortem ex-
amination resulted in the finding of half a dozen
pairs of schistosomes from the mesenteric veins,
the portal veins being entirely free. These were
identified as Schistosoma suis [Rao and Ayyar,
1933].
Pharyngostomum Cordatum Diesing 1850
A few specimens of these were received in this
Laboratory, collected from the small intestine of
a tiger, shot in the Coorg forests. Through the
courtesy of the Hon'ble Miriam Rothschild, it was
possible to get them identified by Dr Baylis to be
Pharyngostomum cordatum. This species has been
fairly frequently recorded from the European
wild cat and also from the domestic cat in China.
Dr Baylis thinks that this parasite has not so far
been reported from the tiger and hence this is
the first record of its kind in the tiger (Coorg,
India) and in India.
Trypanosomes in skin lesions of cattle (Taurine
species)
During the year 1940-41, it was possible to study
this condition in three animals, two (a cow and a
heifer) from Tanjore in October 1940 and one cow
at Chingleput in February 1941.
The history and symptoms of each of these cases
from Tanjore, as given by the Veterinary Assistant
Surgeon in charge of the Veterinary Hospital,
Tanjore, is indicated below.
The cow was purchased locally and she had no
complaint then. Six months after purchase, she
developed this disease. The cow was kept in a
well-ventilated thatched shed with rough concrete
flooring. Besides straw she received country
linseed leaves, ginglily oil cake and rice bran.
The lesion developed as a circumscribed thicken-
ing of the skin, became denuded of hair at the.
centre and developed into a raw sore. It had an
itching sensation and the animal rubbed herself
against any hard object. Such sores cropped up
one by one and were confined to the neck, dewlap
and part of the hump. Some got dried up with
the application of any bland oil dressing while
some persisted.
The owner told me that he used to rub curds
(sour butter milk) on the sores to give some relief.
The heifer was brought by the owner four
months previously at Rayaperiampatti near Tiru-
kattupalli of Tanjore taluk, Tanjore district.
Two months after purchase she developed this
disease. The lesion developed in a similar manner
as described above. On pressure a sero-sanguinous
liquid exuded.
This heifer was kept in a thatched shed with
mud flooring and she was maintained on straw
only and was allowed to graze outside.
The history and symptoms of the cow treated
at Chingleput is given by the Veterinary Assistant
Surgeon, in charge, Veterinary Hospital is as
under :
21 February 1941. This cow showed nodular
eruptions which broke open to form ulcers on or
about 21 January 1941. She was admitted as an
out-patient and the ulcers were treated. Fresh
ulcers cropped up when old ones healed up. The
smears were reported to contain Trypanosomes
by the Principal, Madras Veterinary College.
On the whole, about a dozen nodules appeared on
the body, viz. sides of the neck, shoulder blades,
base of the tail and inside the thighs.
A study of the morphology of these trypanosomes
has revealed peculiar features, not met with in any
trypanosome so far known as affecting cattle.
The parasites are 25-35µ long and have a well
developed undulating membrane and a free
flagellum. The undulating membrane originates
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