NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
96 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ II, I
resist disease. This will be dealt with further. Again another observation which
does not appear to have been stressed, is the question of resistance and pigmenta-
tion. Light coloured animals, it is well known, are deficient in pigment and it is
generally accepted that a highly pigmented skin prevents the entry of light rays
into the deeper tissue. Ultra-violet is a most potent tissue damaging agent, and
even although it is also lethal to bacteria it damages the tissues and lays open the
way for an organism to enter, gain foothold and give rise to an infection. From
another point of view pigmentation may be regarded as a function of metabolic
activity and hence might be said to have a dual rôle in the causation of immunity.
The rôle of nutrition in raising the resistance of animals to disease is shown
very forcibly by the results of a recent experiment at the South-Eastern Agricultural
College, Wyc. A hatch of over five hundred chicks was divided into two parts.
One was fed on a " store " ration and the other was given the usual College ration.
Both lots of chicks were allowed equal chances of infection by the protozoa caus-
ing coccidiosis. At the end of the seventh week 256 birds out of 272 fed upon the
" store " ration had succumbed and the remaining birds were too unthrifty to
make rearing profitable. At the end of the eighth week only 39 birds fed on the
College ration had died from the disease and in the following week 11 more were
killed; 222 were drafted to the fattening pens.
As an example of actual constructive breeding for a disease resistant strain we
may mention the work of Roberts and Card commenced in 1926 at the Illinois Agri-
cultural Experiment Station, with reference to the production of a strain of poultry
resistant to that usually fatal disease of young chickens, bacillary white diarrhœa.
Day-old chicks were inoculated by feeding them with a measured quantity of the
causal organism, Salmonella pullora. Breeding from the survivors of these, a
survival rate of 55 per cent. was found, as compared with 10 per cent. among
control stock the ancestors of which had not been subjected to infection. The
offspring of different females showed different degrees of resistance in a common
environment. The conclusion of these workers was that high resistance to the
disease was a definitely genetic character. Over 4,000 individuals were used in the
experiments.
The Iowa State College workers, also, have been investigating the heritable
nature of resistance to fowl typhoid. It was observed that there was a marked reduc-
tion in the mortality of chicks descended from parents that had survived an acute
infection. The total mortality in a population of 405 chicks having typhoid-
surviving parents was 40.9 per cent. following infection, while in a second group
of 410 from non-typhoid-surviving parents, the mortality was 88.6 per cent. In a
third lot of 202 chicks, in which the sire alone was a typhoid-survivor, the
NATURAL IMMUNITY AND DISEASE RESISTANCE
97
mortality was 62.4 per cent. In 1928, nine different sires were used each one
having been mated with several selected females. The differences in the ability
of sires to transmit resistance varied from 7 to 48 per cent. These results, however,
are from comparatively small numbers and cannot be accepted as anything more
than an indication of the heredity of resistance to this disease.
At the same College, experiments were conducted with swine. Ten pigs
from " naturally immune " stock were tested for resistance to hog cholera. Three,
were given pen exposure and the others injections. All the pigs proved non-
resistant and died, from which it was concluded that resistance to this disease is a
complex recessive character.
We have offered sufficient instances to show the extremely unsatisfactory state
of our knowledge regarding the heredity of natural immunity and disease resistance.
It will be as well to indicate, now. the enormous difficulties from the purely
genetical point of view, confronting those who consider breeding immune or
highly resistant stocks of animals to be a feasible project.
In the first place, only too often do we find that the capacity to resist certain
diseases is possessed by unimproved stocks which are of inferior economic worth.
In such instances, the lesser of two evils may be to continué with non-resistant
stock, inviting all the aids of artificial immunisation. For example, no matter
how disease resistant certain strains of Indian cattle may be, the great work of the
Military Dairy Farms could not have been achieved with Indian cattle alone.
Expediency has necessitated the constant use of Friesian and Ayrshire dairy cows,
even with their lowered resistance to rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, tick-
borne diseases and trypanosomiasis.
Secondly, we cannot assume that resistance or susceptibility are dependent
upon single hereditary factors. Indeed, all the evidence goes to show that
multiple factors are concerned. It would be extremely difficult to identify and
select individuals known to be highly resistant, simply because clean-cut Mendelian
inheritance is not apparent.
Thirdly, we must consider the causal organisms of the diseases not as static
species, but as ones subject to variation and mutation like the higher living things.
To breed for resistance to a given disease as found in a certain country implies to some
extent the assumption of a lack of adaptation on the part of the causal organism.
For it must be realised that in some organisms great variation is noticeable ; e.g.
B. diphtheria, fifty-eight different strains are found, the virulence being a function
of the electrical potential difference between the bacteria and the surrounding
medium. The virus of foot-and-mouth disease is another good case in point.
98 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ II, I
There are known to be at least three well-recognised immunological types of the
virus, A, O and C, and it is probable that there are many strains of each type.
Immunity, natural or acquired, against one variety does not carry with it
immunity against the others. In Britain there have been found forty strains of
the virus, mostly of the O type. Fresh strains may develop and progress alongside
the laborious efforts of the animal breeder who is trying to breed a resistant stock.
To assume that such mutation would occur is only biological commonsense and
not mere pessimism.
Fourthly, there is a large number of diseases with which to contend, to each
of which diseases high resistance is desirable. Taking for example, an ideal animal
for the Tropics; we should desire an efficient animal for its particular purpose,
whether milk, meat or draught, which would include the character of early
maturity; an animal dark in colour, of short dense coat, showing immunity to
rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, trypanosomiasis, piroplasmosis, East Coast
fever and other tick-borne diseases, tuberculosis and contagious abortion. Here,
regardless of many more, we have ten characters at least. Supposing that each of
these depended for inheritance upon a single factor which would facilitate segrega-
tion (the evidence is against such a supposition), to incorporate all the ten
characters in one super-individual we should need an F 2 generation of well over a
million individuals. The problem would still remain of stocking the Tropics with
such a strain. To steadily fix one character after another into a stock is almost
an interminable business, yet it would seem to be the only way.
However, these points are not offered to engender a spirit of hopelessness.
Vigilance must never relax in taking advantage of any mutation in our domestic
stocks which, compatible with economic performance, will enable them to live more
naturally free from disease in the environment in which they are placed.
REFERENCES.
1. Crew, F. A. E. 1925. Animal Genetics. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.
2. Crew, F. A. E. 1928. Genetical Aspects of Natural Immunity and Disease Resistance Edinburgh
Medical Journal, 35, 6 and 7, 301—321, 383—404.
3. Crew, F. A. E. 1928. Disease Resistance. Paper, Annual Congress National Veterinary Medical
Association of Great Britain and Ireland. 16 pp. Subsequent discussion reprinted in Veterinary
Record, 8, 41, 867—880.
4. Gold Coast Colony. Report on the Veterinary Department, 1929-30.
5. Grasset, E. 1929. A Comparative Study of the Aptitude of the Higher Animal Organism to acquire
Immunity throughout the Vital Cycle, and the Relation of this Aptitude to Hereditary Trans-
mission. Publications of the South African Institute for Medical Research, 4, 24, 171—190.
6. Holmes, J. S. 1931. Human Biology, 3,1 and 2.
NATURAL IMMUNITY AND DISEASE RESISTANCE
99
7. Iowa Experiment Station. Report, 1928 and 1929.
8. Kozelka, A. W. 1929. The Inheritance of Natural Immunity among Animals. Journ. Heredity,
20, 11, 519—530.
9. Lundborg, H. 1920. Svenskaresallokapets Handlingar.
10. Nigeria. Annual Report of the Veterinary Department, Northern Provinces, 1928 and 1929.
11. Roberts, E., and Card, L. E. 1926. The Inheritance of Resistance to Bacillary White Diarrhœa.
Poultry Science, 6,1, 18—23.
12. Tanganyika Territory. Annual Reports of the Department of Veterinary Science and Animal
Husbandry, 1926-1929.
ABSTRACT
Recommendations of the Bureau of Animal Industry on Problems of Livestock
Production.- J. R. Mohler. (U. S. Department Agr. Misc. Pub. No. 81, Aug. 1930).
The following abstracts are taken from U. S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous publication
No. 81, dated August 1939, written by Dr. J. R. Mohler, the experienced veterinarian who, as Chief
of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States of America, has revolutionized the livestock situa-
tion of that country since the commencement of the present century. Being the mature conclusions
of a scientifically trained expert in animal husbandry who has had unique experience, in dealing with
approximately 200 million domesticated animals in the United States of America, and unparalleled
opportunities for recording the results of practical breeding and experiments of all kinds, they are of
exceptional authority. Dr. Mohler's work has been of immense economic benefit to the United States
of America and his conclusions, which moreover are in striking accord with the principles evolved by
the practical stock-breeders of old, may safely be adopted by all concerned with livestock improvement
in India.
1. ' Community effort in raising the same breed or variety of stock offers many advantages'.
2. ' In general selection should depend on suitability of a breed for local requirements'.
3. ' The crossing of established breeds of livestock of different types seldom gives the results
expected and is usually an undesirable practice'.
4. ' Similar types of livestock, particularly swine, when crossbred, often make excellent animals
for general utility and market purposes, but their offspring have such mixed heredity that they are
practically useless in systematic herd improvement. Consistent work with one well chosen breed is
more likely to give satisfaction and be profitable than attempts at cross-breeding'.
5. ' The establishment of new breeds of livestock involves years of the most skilful effort as well as
extensive resources in funds and in large numbers of specially selected breeding animals'.
6. ' Persons inclined towards breeding activities along original lines can render more valuable
service to the industry by developing improved types of the established breeds '.
7. ' The bureau advises the castration and dehorning of market cattle'.
8. ' Silos are a valuable means of providing economical and succulent feed during winter and at
times when pastures are indequate '.
9. ' Research by qualified investigators is considered the most satisfactory way to solve many
classes of livestock problems '.
10. ' The judging of livestock by competent authorities at fairs, shows, and other exhibitions is an
important means of bringing about high standards of excellence '.
11. ' Accurate statistical information is an important basis for planning livestock operations wisely
and for verifying or correcting one's judgment of conditions bearing on the industry '. [A. O.]
( 100 )
MGIPC— S3 — III.1-117—23-3-32— 900.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
MAJOR KENELM HEWLETT, O.B.E. (Military),
M.R.C.V.S., I.V.S.
AN APPRECIATION.
In the days to come little may be known or remembered of the years that are
gone, but let it not be said of the professional brothers of Kenelm Hewlett, on the
eve of his departure from this country, and from the service he has honoured
so many years, that we already forget him. For, "in to-day already walks
to-morrow ", and he who could forget the honesty of purpose, the kindness and the
courtesy that dwells in this personality, is himself forgotten.
In the early years even his experiences were varied, for, after leaving Bedford
Grammar School, he proceeded, in 1893, to British Columbia to ranch, returning
to England some two years later. In 1896, he entered the London Veterinary
College, and qualifying in 1900, he made several trips to and from South Africa
in charge of horses. In 1902, he was appointed and arrived in Bombay as one of
the first batch of officers, of the then newly created I. C. V. D. Of his companions
to join the service then (now I. V. S.), Stockman, Jethiji and Oliver have left the
trials of this world for ever, and only Rennie remains.
Although only a few months of Hewlett's service were spent in the Punjab
and Kashmir, the writer has never been more interested than when listening to his
recollections and reminiscences of those early times; of the country as it then
appeared, its people and chiefly of the brother officers whom he knew so well, and
we younger fry, never did, excepting in name. Not the least of his qualities and
gifts is that of word-painting and it can be truly said that even now, the pictures
of several appear before us—one especially comes to mind—that of Joslen, his
predecessor as Principal of the Bombay College, whom he has described many
times—but this is a digression. Before taking over the Principalship, in 1909,
Hewlett was Superintendent (Director) of the Veterinary Department of Bombay
Presidency with Headquarters at Poona. This work was not, it appears, so
congenial or so much after his heart, as the teaching side of the service, and he has,
therefore, remained faithful to his predilections and his forte by retaining the post
( 101 )
A 2
102 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY. [II, II.
of Principal till to-day. For one cannot deny the knowledge and ability he
possesses, and was able on many occasions to display, on all matters academic in
the profession. His choice as representative of the Advisory Board of the Imperial
Council of Agricultural Research on its Governing Body since its inception, is
sufficient index of his worth and of the estimation of his value by his brother
officers and Government.
As a man he is human; a strong and steadfast friend and a happy and merry
one withal, " within the limits of becoming mirth ".
He has gone through life as he walks, uprightly and bold; with energy and
with foresight at times surprising. Kindly and courteous to a degree, we shall miss
him greatly; but in our loss, we must grant him unselfishly, the rest he has earned
as we trust he will accept the respectful memory we hold him in, along with the
good wishes of the service for a long and happy life in the future. [ A. D. M.]
THE CONTROL OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE BY IODINE.
BY
F. WARE, F.R.C.V.S., I.V.S.,
Director, Imperial Institute of Veterinary Research,
AND
P. C. BANERJI, G.B.V.C.,
Officiating Veterinary Deputy Superintendent, Imperial Institute of Veterinary
Research, Muktesar.
(Received for publication on 21st January 1932.)
Although Foot-and-Mouth Disease in India is not looked upon with the same
dread as it is in European countries, owing to the comparatively low value of the
animals commonly affected, yet when it appears amongst valuable working bullocks
or in a Dairy of milch cows, as it does only too often, it causes considerable
inconvenience, not to mention actual financial loss, and any efficient method of
cutting short such outbreaks, whether by biological or chemotherapeutical means,
would be greatly welcomed by stock-owners in this country. Incidentally, it may
be observed that this disease interferes considerably with the experimental work
of this Institute, where several hundred animals are constantly maintained ; for it
breaks out amongst the new purchases, usually in a virulent form, several times
a year with monotonous regularity.
It was, therefore, with great interest that Veterinary Bulletin No. 17 of the
Punjab Agricultural Department, afterwards reproduced in the Veterinary Record,
detailing a method of treating outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease by the
intravenous injection of Lugol's solution of Iodine, was received, for the authors,
Walker and Taylor [1926], after a series of experiments carried out in animals at
the Lahore Veterinary College claimed that this method permitted outbreaks of
Foot-and-Mouth Disease to be dealt with effectively and economically, as treated
animals showed no obvious lesions of the disease, their general health was little
affected, and there was no appreciable loss in weight and condition.
Confirmation of this work soon appeared, for Hunt [1927] reported that it was
applied by Major G. F. Steevenson, R.A.V.C., during an outbreak of the disease
at the Military Dairy Farm at Lahore, and the summary of that officer's report was
that the treatment considerably lessened the number of clinical cases and thereby
( 103 )
104 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ II, II
saved a very considerable loss of milk. It was further stated that as a result of
this and other reports it had been decided to give the method a more extended
trial, but no further report appears to have been published.
A further testimony to the efficiency of this form of treatment is given by
Jones [1931], who used it amongst animals in the Bangkok Quarantine Station, but
he qualifies his remarks by saying that too much importance must not be attached
to these trials, as no attempts were made to control them.
An opportunity of giving this method of control a field trial occurred at this
Institute soon after the appearance of Walker and Taylor's original paper, and
since then it has been repeated on several occasions. As these tests were carefully
controlled and the results obtained were in direct conflict with these of previous
reporters it was considered desirable to publish them, but while this paper was
under preparation we received the Fourth Report of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease
Research Committee in England, in which it is stated that Andrews [1931] has
given a thorough trial to Iodine, both on guinea-pigs and cattle, and obtained no
confirmation of the success claimed with this drug as a therapeutic agent by
workers in India. The fact that our results agree so closely with those obtained
by Andrews seems to be an additional reason for their publication, so that workers
in the field, in those countries where Foot-and-Mouth Disease is of common
occurrence, may know the true position in regard to this rather troublesome method
of treatment, the previous good reports of which cannot be confirmed when it is
put to a carefully controlled test.
One practical difficulty encountered in carrying out the treatment, which has
been referred to by other workers, was the absence of an appreciable interval
between the initial rise in temperature and the appearance of lesions; in fact in
some cases the latter phenomenon appeared first. This is not in accordance with
the observations of Walker and Taylor, who state that contrary to the findings of
the Departmental Committee on Foot-and-Mouth Disease, 1912, there was always
a decided rise in temperature before lesions appeared. This may be due to the
fact that these authors were dealing with artificially infected cases, and this fact
may also account for the beneficial effects of the Iodine treatment which they
report.
Another possible although not very probable explanation of the diverse reports
is that Iodine acts differently with the different types of virus which are known
to exist in this disease, and in this connection it may be observed that no work has
yet been done, as far as we know, on the types of virus prevalent in India. It was
emphasised at the discussion on Foot-and-Mouth Disease at the Eleventh Inter-
national Veterinary Congress [1930] that this is a matter of the greatest importance
CONTROL OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE
105
in every country and it is hoped that sufficient scientific staff will become available
in the near future for it to be undertaken in India.
The solution of Iodine used in the following experiments was the same as that
advocated by Walker and Taylor [1926], viz.:—Iodine one gramme, potassium
iodide two grammes, distilled water 300 c.c. It was injected always into the
jugular vein, the dose being varied from time to time as shown in the tables.
The following abbreviations are used in the tables:—
F
M
+
+ +
—
*
indicates
„
denotes
„
„
„
Foot lesions.
Mouth lesions.
mild lesions.
severe lesions.
absence of lesions.
time when injection was given.
The first opportunity of trying out this method of treatment occurred on the
12th April 1926, when a Holstein Stud Bull belonging to the Institute Dairy
developed symptoms of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, and on the 14th April several
other animals that had been in contact with him were found to be exhibiting the
characteristic lesions of the disease. It was, therefore, decided to treat the
remaining animals, which were showing no lesions, as soon as they exhibited a use
in temperature in accordance with the method of Walker and Taylor.
The details are given in the following table:—
106 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ II, II
TABLE I.
No. of animals
Calf No. 115 .
.
.
.
Calf No. 35 .
.
.
.
Calf No. 110 . . . .
Calf No. 133 . . . .
Calf No. 134 . . . .
Calf No. 57 . . . .
Cow No. 41 . . . .
Cow No. 1
. . . .
14th April 1926
Temp.
A.M.
*
105.2°
*
103.8°
102°
—
—
—
101.4°
101. 4°
P.M.
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Lesions
F
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
M
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
15th April 1926
Temp.
A.M.
100.4°
100.8°
100.4°
101°
100.6°
102.6°
*
103.2°
101.2°
P.M.
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Lesions
F
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
M
+
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
16th April 1926
Temp.
A.M.
101°
100°
*
103°
101.6°
104.4°
100.8°
102.6°
100.6°
P.M.
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Lesions
F
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
M
+
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
17th April 1926
Temp.
A.M.
100.8°
100 8°
101.6°
*
104.4°
102.2°
*
103.8°
101.6°
100.6°
P.M.
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Lesions
F
—
M
+
Saliva-
tion
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
18th April 1926
Temp.
A.M.
P.M.
Not
recorded
101.8°
103.2°
102.8°
102.6°
101.6°
102.6°
102.6°
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Lesions
F
+
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
M
+
+
+
+
—
—
—
—
CONTROL OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE
107
TABLE I.
No. of animals
Calf No. 115 . . .
Calf No. 35 . . .
Calf No. 110 . . . .
Calf No. 133 . . . .
Calf No. 134 . . . .
Calf No. 57 . . . .
Cow No. 41
.
.
.
.
Cow No. 1 . . . .
19th April 1926
Temp.
A. M. P.M.
Not
recorded
100.4° -
Not
recorded
105.4°
*
103.2°
102.8°
102.4°
100 6°
-
-
-
-
-
Lesions
F
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
M
-
+
+
+
-
-
+
-
20th April 1926
Temp.
A.M.
-
P.M.
-
Not
recorded
Do.
Do.
102.4°
102.6°
101.4°
*
103.4°
-
-
-
-
Lesions
F
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
M
-
+
+
+
-
+
+
-
21st April 1926
Temp.
A.M.
-
P.M.
-
Not
recorded
Do.
Do.
103°
102.4°
101.2°
100°
-
-
-
-
Lesions
F
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
M
-
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
Remarks.
Received 50 c. c. of the Solution.
„
50 c. c. „
„
„
50 c c. „
„
„
25 c. c
„
„
„ 25 c. c „ „
„
50 c. c. „
„
„
50 c. c.
„
„
„ 50 c. c
„
„