NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
UNUSUAL CASE OF CHRONIC RINDERPEST.
365
Public Cattle establishment (in Madras) during the current year "; there are a few
more reports of the occurrence of rinderpest in camels available in the evidence
collected by the Indian Cattle Plagues Commission [1871]. Pease [1894]
states :—" The camel also suffers very severely from the disease, it being very fatal
in him; numerous instances of the disease in this animal have been cited by various
authorities, and some have come under my own personal observation ". Recently
Haji [ 1932 ] has described several natural outbreaks of the disease amongst camels,
which were brought to his notice by Veterinary Assistant Surgeons working in parts
of Sind and Karachi. The susceptibility of this animal to rinderpest was proved
experimentally by Lingard and Cross, although Leese and Rayment stated that they
never encountered any case in their experience with camels.
"CARRIERS" AMONGST CATTLE.
Cattle are known to be highly infective during the stage marked by acute fever
and during early clinical symptoms. Such sick animals may spread the infection
locally if not segregated, but the spread of the infection over long distances by such
visibly sick animals is not likely as they would scarcely be used for transport pur-
poses. There is danger, however, from animals which run through a symptomless
form of the disease, as the following evidence from past and present workers would
strongly suggest.
As far back as 1866, Thacker prepared a simple narrative on Cattle Diseases for
the guidence of ryots of Madras, in which mention is made of the several ways in
which rinderpest is propagated and carried about. Among other things, he
states:—
" On one occasion, when sickness had broken out in a herd of cattle, I
advised the owner to remove the healthy animals. One of these was
sent about 15 miles away, and unfortunately put in a herd of 120,
all in apparent health. Within a fortnight 70 were attacked with
Murrain. The disease was thus communicated by this cow carrying in
some way the infection about her, though she herself was never sick ".
This would appear to be the earliest recorded case of a " carrier " bovine and
this valuable reference has been overlooked by all authors who have interested
themselves with the problem of " Carriers ". To quote Lingard [1903]: " It is
well known that an animal may in this country be attacked with so slight a form
of rinderpest that it may even be overlooked by the initiated in this disease ".
In Stockman's [1905] words, " the disease smoulders on in a densely stocked loca-
tion owing to the occurrence of mild cases amongst the partially resistant animals,
which pass unobserved. These and the chronic bowel cases (infectivity up to 30
366 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
days) may start a fresh outbreak if they be brought in contact with a suitable fuel".
Littlewood [1905] has observed that cattle imported into Egypt from Asia Minor
may not show clinical symptoms and yet at autopsy reveal lesions of rinderpest.
Rickman [1908] had the same experience in German South-West Africa, for he
states that cattle and other animals may be infected to an imperceptible degree.
In China, Eggebrecht [1910] found that some animals infected with rinderpest
show no visible signs of the disease beyond a rise of temperature to 40° C. or higher
for two days. In discussing " climatic influence " upon the incidence of disease in
India, Baldrey [1912] refers to the fact that by long residence of any organisms of
contagious animal disease in one place the disease becomes weakened in virulence
to the animals of that place and further that animals infected with rinderpest may
act as carriers without showing symptoms in enzootic areas. Again Pool and
Doyle [1921] state :—
" The animals that recover are turned out to graze as soon as they are
convalescent. It is likely that most of them cease to be infective very
soon after they are convalescent but a study of the epizootiology of
rinderpest leads one to believe that there is a very strong possibility
that some animals become " carriers " and remain so for a considerable
period ".
In the experience of Youngberg [1917], Nellore cattle are very dangerous as
conveyors of the disease to the Philippine cattle, since the former may react without
clinical symptoms and since his experimental work shows that the infectivity of the
virus is not appreciably attenuated by being passaged through this breed of Indian
cattle.
Jacotot [1929] showed that in an animal which is passing through a thoroughly
blocked out and symptomless reaction, whether it be a very highly resistant animal
(goat) that is inoculated with virus alone, or an animal (bull) which is inoculated
with a sufficiently large amount of serum in the serum-simultaneous method of
inoculation or a previously actively immunised animal (bull) which is being retested
with virus alone, its blood can be shown to be virulent by inoculation into bulls on
certain days during the period at which the blood of a virus producer is expected to
be infective; but the longest period of infectivity does not seem to have been
determined in these cases. Some support to the above view is obtainable from the
observation of certain workers who found that the serum-simultaneous method of
inoculation is not conducive to the eradication of rinderpest.
For instance, Ferrado [1917] was of opinion that the persistence of rinderpest
in Eritrea was due to the so-called serum-simultaneous method of inoculation adopted
by the authorities there in dealing with outbreaks. Claverie [1929] and Daubney
UNUSUAL CASE OF CHRONIC RINDERPEST.
367
[1928-1930] have pointed out that serum-simultaneous inoculations create new
centres of infection and that in countries, where this method has been resorted to,
it has never been possible to eradicate rinderpest. The latter worker further added
that the long duration of immunity conferred was due to the frequent recurrences
of symptomless infections derived from centres of disease set up during the double
inoculation. " There can be little doubt", he remarked, " that in animals guarded
from all risks of reinfection immunity begins to decline at between 2-3 years after
serum-simultaneous inoculation". The waning of immunity has been suggested
also in a few cases of natural attacks. Evidence has been recorded by the Indian
Cattle Plagues Commission from villagers and others to show that a bovine may
be attacked more than once after a lapse of several years. This view is not un-
supported, for Bliss [1922] furnishes trustworthy experimental proof to show that
two animals, a cow and a heifer 7 months old, which recovered from a natural
attack of typical rinderpest could be artificially infected by virus inoculation after
three years and one and half years respectively and mentions that he has encount-
ered other cases of second attacks during his experience in China. Animals having
a second attack six years after the first and succumbing to it were met with by
Pease [1894].
It is known that movement of cattle can be responsible for outbreaks of
rinderpest. Angeloff [1917] held that the outbreaks of 1853, 1877 and 1913 in
Bulgaria were all due to the movement of transport cattle from Asia. Illicit
movement of cattle has been known to be responsible for the spread of rinderpest
[McCall, 1922]. Very recently from a survey of the outbreaks of rinderpest which
occurred in the Central Provinces in India Stirling [1932] has shown that they are
confined to the routes followed by the nomadic tribes of cattle dealers. In all
these instances, however, it is not possible to state definitely whether the cattle
responsible for the introduction of the disease are the inapparently infected animals,
such as those enumerated by Jacotot [1929]. or carriers of rinderpest in a chronic
form. As has already been pointed out, the danger from the visibly sick animals
in these nomadic herds is relatively less and here the methods of control are likely
to be more effective since such animals would not be physically fit to travel long
distances and, further, their owners would not parade them about to the detriment
of their own interests. It will be remembered that Great Brtain was free from
rinderpest for such a long period as 120 years, when in 1865, the disease was brought
to the London Stock market, and at the same time to different provincial cities by
a cattle boat from Finland and towards the end of that year 85 counties were
infected. During the 1½ years of its prevalence 500,000 cattle died. The disease
spread to Holland from England and destroyed a large number of cattle there also.
In those days the steam ships were not so fass as now and the cattle boat must
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368 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
have taken a period in excess of the maximum incubation period of the disease for
reaching the English docks, and it is to be presumed that the cattle were in apparent
health at the ports of embarkation and unloading. This historical outbreak seems
to be the first recorded case of a large scale infection caused by what would appear
to be " carriers ".
Another interesting account is available of a severe outbreak being started by
" carriers " in an Editorial article in the Rev. Gen. Med. Vet. [1920], in which the
infection was introduced into Belgium through the agency of Indian zebus, presum-
ably of the Hariana breed which is said to be highly resistant to rinderpest. These
cattle were embarked at Bombay for Brazil and were jettisoned in the qurantine
depots for a few days at Antwerp. Several of these died at Antwerp but rinderpest
was not suspected. Three consignments of cattle arrived from America into the
same port during the stay of the Indian zebus, and with the distribution of
American cattle to different towns for slaughter many centres of cattle plague were
established. This outbreak which was closely watched and studied by Bordet,
Gratia, Lienaux, Nicholas and Rinjard has brought out the following facts. The
creation of new centres was ascribable in nearly every instance to the accidental
or fraudulent movement of in-contact animals, and in a few other cases to the
transportation of fresh meat. On the other hand, none of them could be attributed
to the very indirect methods of contagion described in all the old classical refer-
ences. Living intermediaries such as man or insusceptible animals played quite
an insignificant or no part. Some exact observations showed that flies do not trans-
port the virus. An efficient veterinary police with strict enforcement of stand-still
orders sufficed to eradicate the disease completely. A point of further interest is
the connected case, reported by Roberts [1921] as the first official record of
rinderpest in Brazil. He considered that the same Indian zebus, which brought the
disease into Belgium, were also responsible for its introduction into South America.
Now the cargo boat used for the transport of these cattle must have taken 4
or 5 weeks for the voyage from Bombay to Antwerp and a little longer for Rio de
Janiero at that time. Had the shipped cattle been highly susceptible, they would
have almost certainly all died before the boat reached Antwerp, and the diagnosis
of rinderpest would have been readily made. Here the Indian cattle were appa-
rently healthy when they left Bombay and the virus was carried without the
manifestation of clinical symptoms for a period well over the maximum incubative
stage known (10 days).
In another recorded case [Delpi, 1930] calves were brought from a herd which
had been attacked with rinderpest but the calves appeared to be perfectly healthy.
These were transported by a canoe for 20 days to an island where the disease did
UNUSUAL CASE OF CHRONIC RINDERPEST.
369
not exist. On arrival, some diarrhoea and lachrymation was noticed. Within the
next few days other animals began to show similar symptoms but these were not
severe enough to be considered as due to rinderpest. On the 32nd day after the
arrival of the calves, typical rinderpest broke out.
It seems that the neglected question of carriers among cattle was brought to
some prominence by the finding of Mrowka [1914] of lesions resembling those of
rinderpest in apparently healthy animals after they were slaughtered. His view
was that these lesions in the abomasum represented the residue of a pre-existent
disease in which the rinderpest virus might be retained even for years, and in
animals which, in the meantime, became devitalised, it might cause a reinfection in
the course of which the virus might be eliminated in great quantities. But it
seems that he was not able to infect other cattle by feeding the abomasum from
such cases.
Schern [1918] reported that out of 131 animals which recovered after inocula-
tion, with virulent blood, 34 animals had shown no symptoms after inoculation, but
when slaughtered at varying intervals showed lesions of rinderpest. In one case
lesions were present on slaughter 155 days after inoculation. He attempted to find
out if the abomasum from such sick animals was still infective. Animals fed on
the abomasum from an animal slaughtered 26 days after infection contracted
rinderpest, those at 70, 105 and 108 days did not, but those fed with the aboma-
sum from the 70th day animal were found to be subsequently immune when
exposed to infection by contact with diseased animals. Cattle fed on the aboma-
sum removed from an animal slaughtered 101 days after infection exhibited
mild doubtful symptoms. From this Schern concluded that cattle which had to
all outward appearances completely recovered from rinderpest may, nevertheless, be
possible carriers of infection, but that the danger of infectivity decreases as the
time after recovery progresses.
Bliss [1922] did not attempt to locate the seat of the virus in a "carrier"
animal but his views on the origin of " carriers " in this disease are worthy of
being quoted in extenso. He states : " since the virus is very short-lived outside
the body of the host, it is highly probable that the epidemics are started by
carriers that have received the infection in a former epidemic and have failed to
throw it off. Of this, up to the present time there is no direct proof, but it has
been observed that there are individuals which do not show symptoms within the
usual period after infection, but later when exposure to severe chill lowers their
vitality they develop the disease
A degree of immunity, too weak to
destroy the micro-organism but sufficiently strong to hold it in check until condi-
tions favourable to its development occur, would produce a carrier. The number of
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370 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
cases of rinderpest closely follows the variations in weather, the epidemics closely
being connected with the inclement seasons of the year. Often a weakling in a
herd starts an epidemic. It apparently takes a weak strain of the organism which
the stronger cattle can resist and converts it into a virulent strain too strong
for even the robust cattle."
Curasson [1926] was able to associate the presence of healed ulcers in the
abomasum, patches of congestion in the intestine and moist and enlarged mesen-
teric lymphatic glands with animals which after recovery from rinderpest showed
persistent poorness of condition, dull coat, frequent cough, intermittent fever, chrome
enteritis and in females, chronic vaginitis and sterility. Further he was able to
infect a susceptible calf with such abomasum in one out of two cases, the positive
result being obtained with the material collected 34 days after apparent recovery
and the negative result with that collected 7 weeks after recovery.
Several cases of the infectivity of materials other than abomasum from animals
suffering from chronic rinderpest are on record. For instance, Hutyra and Marek
[1916] showed that the blood of an animal chronically affected with rinderpest may
remain virulent up to 30 days. Curasson [1926] showed that in animal which
showed a second rise of temperature one month after recovery, the blood was
infective by both subcutaneous and intravenous route. Delpi [1928, 1930] showed
that in animals suffering from atypical rinderpest—a disease characterised by a
prolonged duration of over one and a half month—the blood was infective through
the entire period and at the time of death. Curasson [1922, 1926] gave two in-
stances of the infectivity of the vaginal discharge from recovered animals one
month after recovery. Jacotot [1932] proved that in one instance the vaginal
discharge from an animal which had aborted 34 days after infection was infective,
although its blood had ceased to be infective by them. Curasson [1926] showed
that the faeces of a heifer which had recovered 7 weeks previously was infective
though duodenal ulcers taken 3 days later were found to be non-infective. He
stated that he had also known of a cow whose milk was found to be infective two
months after recovery from rinderpest.
The available evidence on the existence of carriers has been seen. Reports
purporting to show the truth of the contrary view have been recorded by several
workers. In a reference quoted earlier, Ward and collaborators [1914] stated
that they could not demonstrate the presence of carriers among recovered animals
by the method of housing susceptible and recovered animals together. Rupert
[1918], who stringently criticised Schern's work regarding the existence of carriers,
pointed out that Mrowka himself had been unable to infect susceptible cattle with
duodenal ulcers from his cases and recorded the result of his own work with Woefel
in which he found that as much as three litres of blood from a recovered beast
UNUSUAL CASE OF CHRONIC RINDERPEST.
371
failed to reproduce the disease. Curasson who had reported cases in support of
the existence of carriers came across two instances of negative results, one with
blood and the other with duodenal ulcers. Jacotot [1932] obtained consistently
negative results with the exception of a notable case in which the vaginal discharge
was infective. With reference to the negative results, Schern and Jacotot, both
think, though with varying degrees of emphasis, that these are due to the fact
that carriers are rarely encountered ordinarily.
In sifting the evidence that has been recorded on both sides of the question it
is apparent that the two views are in reality not contradictory but they refer to
facts appertaining to the different phases of the disease, for an animal may be a
" carrier " of the virus in one tissue and not in another, as will be amplified later,
or may have become entirely cleansed of the virus in one stage and not in
another.
OUR EXPERIENCE.
Having seen the present position with regard to certain connected aspects,
our own case may now be considered. The subject of this case was a bull No. 288
of the Kumaun hills which died of chronic rinderpest 74 days after inoculation
with virus, and whose spleen was proved to be infective at the time of death. It
is believed that this is the first time that an attempt has been made to demonstrate
a " carrier " through the infectivity of the spleen. The above-case was encounter-
ed during routine post mortem examination and one was struck with the strange
presence of the typical lesions of rinderpest so long after the initial infection with the
virus. Some of the tissues were therefore collected with proper precautions and
stored in sterile glass ware (pipettes and petri-dishes) in the refrigerator with a view
to test their infectivity.
It may be stated in parenthesis that the breed to which this animal belongs
has been ascertained to be 18 times more susceptible than the Indian plains cattle
[Lingard, 1899] and of about one-sixth the susceptibily of European cattle. It is
known from experience that usually the mortality among these hill cattle varies
from 50 to 80 per cent. when infected with a virus of bovine origin but it is much
less when goat virus is used.
This bull was inoculated on 11th August 1931 as a routine virus producer with
a goat strain which was being maintained at this Institute by passaging alternately
through bulls and goats. The virus for inoculation into this animal was obtained on
the 4th day after injection from a goat (No. 147) which had shown a rise of temper-
ature of 106° on the third day after infection and died of rinderpest on the 15th
day. To show that the virus used was potent it may be mentioned that another
bull (No. 315), which was inoculated with blood from the same goat at the same
372 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
time, developed typical clinical symptoms of rinderpest (inappetence, diarrhœa and
mouth lesions) but eventually recovered.
The Bull No. 288, which is now under consideration, showed a marked rise of
temperature of 104.6° F. on the third day after inoculation, maintained the temper-
ature at about this level up to the sixth day and showed a gradual fall by degrees,
till the temperature came to normal by the 9th day. The animal suffered from
slight inappetence and digestive disturbances (diarrhœa and soft faeces) lasting for
4 days from the 6th to the 10th day after inoculation. No vesicles or ulcers charac-
teristic of rinderpest were detected during the period of observation extending for
15 days [Chart No. 1]. The only complicating factor, apart from rinderpest, was the
CLINICAL CHART No. 1.
CLINICAL CHART No. 2.
UNUSUAL CASE OF CHRONIC RINDERPEST.
373
presence in blood smears of a few Theileria parasites on the 4th day after inocu-
lation. The animal was discontinued from the experiment on the 16th day after
inoculation and sent away to a tin shed a few furlongs away from the main rinder-
pest station since this tin shed is set aside for housing all the animals that have
passed through rinderpest pending eventual disposal. During its sojourn in the tin
shed as a discontinued animal, whatever minor symptoms of malaise that it exhi-
bited did not receive any serious attention. The bull died on the night of 24th
October 1931, i.e., 74 days after the infective inoculation with the rinderpest virus.
An autopsy was held on it on the morning of 25th October 1931. The lesions
detected at post mortem examination were definitely suggestive of rinderpest and
included marks of diarrhœa, rare ulcers on the lip, ulceration of the pharynx,
oesophagus, gall bladder, cæcum and rectum. The ulceration in the last two
viscera was deep and necrotic. The abomasum was diffusely congested and
oedematous, associated with cicatrices of healed ulcers in the fundus and ulcer-
ation with streaks of deeper congestion in the pylorus. Rectal smears did not reveal
the presence of any coccidia. Blood smears taken just after death revealed a few
Theileria parasites only.
EXPERIMENTAL TESTS FOR INFECTIVITY.
Of the materials collected from this animal and stored in the refrigerator, only
the spleen and blood were tested by inoculating saline emulsions of the blood clots
and the spleen separately into hill bulls Nos. 788 and 768, and 791 and 688 respec-
tively.
The inoculations were carried out on 29th October 1931, i. e., 4½ days after the
death of the animal, and each lot of two animals was kept in separate isolation
chuppers. Hill bull No. 788, which was inoculated with 1 c.c. of saline emulsion
of the clot of heart blood, did not show any disturbance of health excepting for a
very transient rise of temperature of 104° F. on the afternoon of the 9th day after
inoculation. Blood smears taken at the time of the elevation of temperature did
not reveal any protozoon organisms. On being retested for immunity with 5 c.c.
of virulent blood of bovine origin on 28th November 1931, i.e., one month after the
test inoculation, the animal showed a typical thermal reaction and clinical symp-
toms of rinderpest, such as inappetence, diarrhœa and vesicles [chart No. 5].
The bull died on 18th December 1931, 20 days after the retest inoculation as a
result of rinderpest complicated with coccidiosis. The second animal, Hill bull
No. 768, which was also inoculated with saline emulsions of blood, did not
show any reaction. On being submitted to a retest with 5 c.c. of the bovine virus
one month later, it showed a typical thermal reaction and clinical symptoms
CLINICAL CHART No. 3.