NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
71
(3) That investigations upon the nature of the rinderpest virus
and upon the factors involved in the safe conference of a
satisfactory immunity should be regarded as research
projects of primary importance.
(4) That meanwhile, until the time arrives for the wholesale
adoption of a process of active immunization, the "serum
alone" method of immunization, though it confers but a
passive, fleeting immunity, should be regarded when
properly applied as the system best suited for general
adoption in the face of outbreaks in India.
SUBJECT II (c).—TRYPANOSOMIASES: SURRA. (1) Is THE EXISTING
LEGISLATION FOR THE CONTROL OF SURRA ADEQUATE? (2)
THE PRESENT POSITION IN RESPECT TO RESEARCH AND THE
EFFICACY OF METHODS OF TREATMENT. (3) INFORMATION WITH
REGARD TO TRYPANOSOMIASES, OTHER THAN SURRA, FOUND IN
INDIA.
The Chairman called upon Mr. Ware who stated that much
information was required upon the problem of surra and he had
suggested that this subject might be discussed in order to find a
means of obtaining more information upon the many aspects of
the problem which were at present recognized to need solution.
He asked for the appointment of a whole-time protozoologist
to study the question and he hoped that a resolution would be
drafted to this effect. If this worker did not find sufficient work in
the investigation of the trypanosomiases, he would certainly find
much occupation in studying the parasites of other protozoan
diseases of incalculable importance in the live stock economy of
the country.
Mr. Fletcher, Imperial Entomologist, stated that he had no
further information to impart upon the problems connected with
surra. He had summarized the information available on the aspects
of the subjects which concerned him, in the printed review which
he had circulated. At the Fourth Standing Committee on Surra,
at which he was present, it had been decided largely at his instiga-
tion to constitute a small body of investigators, comprising a veteri-
nary pathologist, an entomologist, and a protozoologist, in order
to study the whole problem of surra in India. As he had pointed
out in his review of the published information upon the transmis-
sion of surra, there was hardly a single point connected with
this aspect of the problem that had been put forward as throwing
light on the problem, which was not disputed by other workers.
72
The review dealt with the position up to the time it was published,
June 1921, and it was submitted to the Government in order to
explain the position.
Government had apparently rejected the proposals submitted
by the committee on the score of expense. He had regarded the
action proposed by the committee as vital, for there was no
comparison between the present economic loss from deaths among
animals due to surra and the relatively very small expenditure
that would have to be laid out in the proposed investigations. Mr.
Edwards in his note had suggested that efforts should now be con-
centrated upon treatment. He (Mr. Fletcher) pointed out that if
one were to take the analogous examples of malaria, it was admitted
that the eradication of this disease could only be effected by attack-
ing the actual means of transmission, for no advance could be made
in this direction by the administration of an efficacious remedy,
namely, quinine. To put off investigation on the plea that a remedy
might be found was in his opinion a weak argument. In malaria
it was agreed that efforts should be concentrated on the eradication
of the mosquito as the means of controlling the disease. He more-
over thought that as a general policy it was most unwise to assist
the Government in finding a means of escape from the considered
opinion of a technical body such as had been constituted in the
manner of the Surra Committee. It was likely that this would
form a precedent and that Government would regard scientific
committees as vacillating and untrustworthy.
In reply to the Chairman, who asked if he was conversant with the
recent work of Mr. Cross on the tick transmission of surra, Mr.
Fletcher replied that he was acquainted with this work, but not-
withstanding the claims put forward he considered that it did not
in any way point to less research in this connection being required.
Mr. Cameron stated that in Burma the disease was more
prevalent than was represented in the map drawn up to show its
distribution, and he considered that it was necessary to check a
large amount of evidence still in order to get a correct appreciation
of the situation. In the affected districts there were prevalent many
kinds of Tabanid flies, and surra was well known to affect "belts"
of country. The agency by means of which it was transmitted was
quite unknown, but several species of flies might be suspected. In
discussing the question as to whether existing legislation was suffi-
cient to deal with the disease or not he mentioned that it almost
invariably happened that the "Veterinary Practitioner" appointed
to take the action laid down under the Glanders and Farcy Act was
not within a reasonable distance of the scene of the outbreak to seize
the affected animal. The Government of Burma had recently
73
declared that men who had acted in the appointment of Veterinary
Deputy Superintendents for two or three years could be regarded
as "Veterinary Practitioners" within the meaning of the Act,
in addition to the members of R. C. V. S. But even so, the area
for which each of these officers was responsible was so considerable
that he could not reach the declared case of infection in time. Even
if the Veterinary Practitioner was within reach, he could not find
any means of having the animals shot, for in a country where all
the inhabitants were Buddhists, including the Veterinary Assistants,
it was extremely difficult to get the law enforced. The result was
that it was not uncommon for an animal found to be affected to be
turned out into the jungle rather than shot on account of these
religious prejudices and thus it became a reservoir of infection.
The legislation should be modified so that the animal could be
seized by the police and kept in segregation until it could be declared
free from infection. If an animal was certified to be infected after
a microscopic examination, it should be destroyed by the police.
In the course of the discussion it was pointed out that the rules
which each province was entitled to draw up under the Act should
be made uniform in this respect in each province. He had found
no other trypanosomes in bovines other than what he believed
to be those of surra. He thought that Mr. Fletcher's recommenda-
tion that a small whole-time committee should be appointed to work
upon surra was a sound one.
Mr. Edwards elaborated the points submitted to the meeting in
his note. He explained the position which had arisen subsequent
to the Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee on Surra, in
1921, and he reiterated his belief that the problem of surra should
not be attacked alone, but efforts should be made to prosecute its
study as part of the much larger problem of the whole group of
diseases among live-stock in India caused by protozoan parasites,
concerning which our knowledge was lamentably defective as
compared with that existent in other countries upon diseases
of this kind and in view of the economic issues entailed. It
might very likely transpire that the Government of India would
be sorely disappointed with the economic benefits that would
accrue from the labours of a specially appointed body of investi-
gators working for a certain term of years, although from a
philosophical standpoint the information they would be able
to furnish would undoubtedly be of great value. He said this
particularly as he had in mind the analogy of the formidable African
trypanosomiases of man and the domesticated animals. In spite
of the fact that a great deal of very precise knowledge was now
available regarding the parasite, the vectors, and the pathology
of these conditions, no practical results on a large scale had yet been
74
derived from this knowledge; for, those who were reckoned to be
authorities in this field of study could not make up their minds
whether it was best to attack the problem by clearing the forests
which harboured the vector or by stamping out the game believed
to act as reservoirs of the trypanosomes; in any event, both pro-
positions appeared to be economically quite impracticable. Hence,
short of avoiding the areas in which these diseases were known
to occur nothing seemed to have been done except to exploit
the possibilities of therapeutic treatment. He considered that the
results hitherto recorded in connection with the therapeutic treat-
ment of this group of diseases to be distinctly encouraging. He
had in mind the information recently published concerning the
efficacy of the German preparation "Bayer 205" in the treatment
of human sleeping sickness, and the prospects opened up by the
successes claimed appeared to be so considerable that it had been
put forward that the German Government would hold out the
disclosure of the method of preparation of this compound as the
basis of negotiations for the return of her African tropical posses-
sions. He also mentioned the successes claimed by Dr. Pearce,
of the Rockefeller Institute, with cases of human sleeping sickness
in the Belgian Congo; this worker had kindly placed at his disposal
a quantity of the preparation (tryparsamide) which he employed
for the experimental treatment of surra, but the results hitherto
obtained seemed to indicate that this disease in horses was not
easily amenable to treatment. The results following treatment with
tartar emetic in certain trypanosomiases, such as the surra of
camels investigated by Cross and the trypanosomiasis of cattle in
South Central Africa due to Trypanosoma congolense, were well
known. [At the Muktesar laboratory he had obtained remarkably
good results in the treatment of bovines affected with trypa-
nosomiasis, caused by a trypanosoma indistinguishable from
that of surra, by intravenous injections of tartar emetic]
Spirochætal affections, which might be regarded as nearly related,
had proved often to be most susceptible to chemotherapeutic
treatment. A large amount of information was now scattered in
the literature upon the chemotherapeutic treatment of this class
of disease, and it seemed that a co-ordinated effort should
now be made to ascertain the efficacy of the various classes of
drugs, believed to act as remedies, upon a large scale upon
naturally infected cases in the field. In the case of the domesti-
cated animals susceptible to surra any system of treatment
ultimately recommended must be efficacious, cheap, and easily
applicable. He therefore proposed to seek the co-operation of the
Veterinary Service in the field to the largest possible extent for the
observation of the effects of certain remedies which suggested
75
themselves. Work of this kind undoubtedly took considerable
time, but as it would cost Government very little or nothing there
was no excuse for keeping back this kind of investigation on the plea
of financial stringency. With regard to the larger problem of the
whole group of protozoan diseases, he stated that the opportunities
for valuable research in this field were immense. For the past
year at Muktesar systematic examinations had been made upon
cattle more particularly for protozoan parasites, and they had come
across a large number of cases of bovine coccidioses, four cases of
infection set up by parasites identical in appearance and distribu-
tion in the body with that of the formidable East Coast Fever of
cattle in Africa (Theileria parva), and innumerable examples of
infection in cattle with small piroplasms of the type Theileria
mutans. During his stay at Muktesar Mr. Sheather had discovered
a parasite in cattle very similar to that of malaria in man, and a
number of cases had been found since. Very little seemed to be
known with regard to the nature and distribution of the "red-
water" parasites of cattle in India, and he was particularly interest-
ed in this matter on account of the dangers involved in the active
immunization of cattle against rinderpest. In all questions
connected with insect transmission of these diseases he would look
to the Imperial Entomologist for assistance, for any work directly
dealing with insects was of too specialised a nature to be readily
taken up by the veterinary pathologist. Again, he thought the
time was ripe for the permanent appointment of a specially trained
and experienced protozoologist for work and advice upon all ques-
tions dealing with protozoan parasites of veterinary interest. He
thought the proto-zoologist would best be placed on the staff of
the Muktesar laboratory, where he would be incorporated in a team
for the investigation of surra and the other trypanosomiases and
all the important classes of diseases due to protozoan parasites of
economic interest in the live-stock industry of the country.
Mr. MacGregor thought that surra was a disease which could not
be much affected by therapeutic treatment and he could not agree
to the analogy between it and certain of the diseases mentioned by
Mr. Edwards.
Mr. Hewlett said that he would be pleased to carry out the
treatment suggested in the lazaretto in Bombay. He had previously
tried the treatment and had found no difficulty in carrying it out.
The only difficulty was the expense of maintaining the animals,
for he had no money available for their upkeep, but he could probably
manage to keep three or four horses at one time. He considered
that the existing legislation was not adequate but was quite justified.
With regard to information upon the presence of trypanosomiases
76
in other animals, it had been discovered at the college that in Bombay
about 2 per cent. of the cattle harboured trypanosomes in their
blood. The percentage in buffaloes was higher, about 10 per cent.
He could not declare what species of trypanosomes were represent-
ed in these estimates, but his colleague Mr. Sowerby was of opinion
that they were Trypanosoma evansi. Outbreaks of trypanosomiases
in buffaloes in Bombay sometimes led to fatal termination in the
affected animals and upon death their blood was found to be teaming
with trypanosomes.
Mr. Branford stated that he had tried Cross's treatment for surra
upon one affected camel and the animal was completely cured.
Mr. Wilson stated that the present legislation placed him in a
paradoxical position, for if a case of surra was confirmed in an equine
animal this animal had to be destroyed, whereas in the neighbour-
hood it might be quite easy to discover similar trypanosomes in
the blood of cattle, but these animals could not be slaughtered.
Affected cattle yielded readily to treatment. Without doubt,
this anomalous position would be severely criticised in future.
The Chairman believed that all present were agreed that the
existing state of legislation was not satisfactory. He entertained
grave doubts as to the efficacy of existing methods of treatment.
In his own hands the treatment recommended by Holmes had not
given satisfactory results and recently at the Punjab Veterinary
College the method of treatment recommended by Cross had been
tried on a number of infected camels with no success, due possibly
to the animals being old and in very poor condition. He believed
that chemical treatment would not cure animals unless it was
combined with good food and favourable climatic conditions. Purity
in the drugs employed appeared to be essential also. The urgent
necessity for further research was clear, and it was regrettable that
the recommendations of the Fourth Standing Committee on Surra
had not been adopted.
After some further discussion a committee comprising Messrs-
Ware, Fletcher, and Farbrother with Mr. Edwards as Secretary was
appointed to draft resolutions in conformity with the opinions
expressed by the meeting. This committee drafted the following
resolution, which was passed unanimously by the Meeting.
Resolution II (c)
(1) Investigations into the nature and mode of transmission
of the animal trypanosomiases in India should be
prosecuted forthwith. Likewise, the whole problem of
the important protozoan diseases of the domesticated
animals of the country should be approached concur-
rently. For this purpose it will be necessary to streng-
then the technical resources at present available in the
77
country for research into different aspects of the above
projects, comprising the entomological, protozoological, and
pathological aspects, by centralization of the facilities
available in each of these pursuits, and the delegation, on
request, of workers to assist those engaged directly in the
elucidation of the disease problems. An experienced proto-
zoologist should be appointed to the staff of the Imperial
Bacteriological Laboratory for research into these
problems. Entomological assistance should be derived
from the staff of the Imperial Entomologist. These
workers would find unlimited scope for their activities,
in addition, in the investigation of the economically high-
ly important diseases of live-stock caused by protozoan
parasites, other than those of surra.
(2) Efforts to obtain a cheap, effective and easily applied remedy
for the cure of surra, in particular, and other protozoan
diseases should be prosecuted on a large scale in the
laboratory and in the field, and the co-ordinated services
of the whole veterinary profession in India are required
for this purpose.
(3) In view of our present inadequate knowledge of the trypano-
somiases of animals in India, and the likelihood that
the pathogenic trypanosomes find a reservoir frequently
in relatively resistant host species, the present legislative
measures dealing with surra should be reconsidered in
the light of better information that may be procured on
further research directed with the object of elucidating
these peculiar conditions.
SUBJECT II (d).-CONTAGIOUS ABORTION. INFORMATION REGARDING
ITS INCIDENCE AMONG IMPORTED AND INDIGENOUS STOCK ;
PROPOSALS FOR CONTROL.
Mr. Edwards explained the text of his note already circulated
among the members. Tests at the Muktesar laboratory had indi-
cated that in the Punjab and elsewhere the common form of
equine contagious abortion was very prevalent and tests upon one
herd of military dairy cattle had shown a high incidence of
infection with the common form of contagious bovine abortion.
Contagious abortion and tuberculosis were the most serious
menaces to live-stock in Western countries, and of these two
conditions probably contagious abortion ranked first as a cause
of direct economic loss to the stock breeder. In India, the import-
78
ance of this disease was probably masked by the much greater
attention paid to the serious epizootic diseases of the country,
notably rinderpest. In the case of tuberculosis, it seemed that the
incidence of infection in India was very low, and among indigenous
cattle it would probably be found that the prevalence of contagious
abortion was likewise low as compared with that obtaining in more
civilized countries on account of the conditions which obtained
there due to the efforts made to improve the breeds of cattle and
horses. With the resulting greater movement of animals, dependent
largely upon the much better transport facilities, animals infected
or acting as carriers of infection spread the disease readily over great
distances. Inasmuch as with the improvement of live-stock
breeding in India, the same factors would most likely also prevail,
it was probable that these diseases of both cattle and mares would
before long assume very considerable importance. It seemed,
therefore, that steps should be taken soon to ascertain the prevalence
of the infection in the various parts of the country and the relative
susceptibility of indigenous and imported cattle. Effective measures
of control for both equine and bovine abortion depended upon
early diagnosis of the condition, so that as soon as it was found
affecting a herd or stud, segregation measures could be promptly
instituted. In bovine abortion vaccination was resorted to in
some countries on a fairly large scale, but inasmuch as vaccination
implied the inoculation of animals with the living causal organisms,
and hence might keep alive indefinitely the disease in carriers, it
should not be a method to be lightly undertaken, particularly if
the disease could be eradicated by simple preventive measures.
It appeared, therefore, that it might be found that in cattle, parti-
cularly, both tuberculosis and contagious abortion were conditions
that could be checked at the present time in this country on account
of their low incidence. We might be able, in this manner, to avert
the evil which is prevalent among Western herds in this respect,
with the early institution of proper measures of control.
Mr. Branford explained his views concerning the experience
gained on the Hissar farm. He was not inclined to believe that
contagious abortion in cattle was a new disease in this country.
On the Hissar farm, at any rate, it appeared to have been in existence
for many years. He had published records showing the number
of cases of abortion which had occurred in the herd over a period of
ten years and it seemed that the number of cases which occurred
each year was relatively small. He was inclined to believe that
contagious abortion assumed importance not on account of the
spread of civilized methods of improving breeds of live-stock but
on account of the aggregation of large numbers of cattle in certain
localities.
79
Mr. Wilson stated that in the course of his experience with
certain herds in the Central Provinces a few cases of abortion had
occurred and these were strictly confined to half-bred cattle. No
cases appeared to occur among indigenous cattle.
Mr. Hickey stated that in his experience no contagious abortion
existed on the Government agricultural farms in the United
Provinces.
Mr. MacGregor stated that investigations carried out at the
slaughter houses in Calcutta and tests on jail cattle undertaken in
order to determine the true prevalence of tuberculosis had revealed
a much greater incidence than was generally suspected. Indeed,
he encountered quite a number of cases of tuberculous mastitis.
If systematic investigation were similarly performed with a view to
ascertaining the prevalence of contagious abortion, it would most
probably be found that the disease was fairly common. He
asked Mr. Edwards, if it was not true that the disease tended to
extinguish itself if it was allowed to run its course in the infected
locality.
Colonel Pallin recounted the history of the outbreak in the
Lucknow military dairy, which he presumed was the outbreak
referred to by Mr. Edwards. On account of the abnormal number
of abortions which had occurred in the dairy during the past year,
the officer in charge had approached the Muktesar laboratory, and
the animals were systematically tested. He gave figures showing
the percentage of animals of various classes infected.
The following is a summary of results of the agglutination test
for contagious abortion carried out on the animals belonging to the
Government dairy farm, Lucknow, during October and November
1922 :—
Cows
......
Buffaloes
.....
Bulls
.....
Heifers
......
Total
....
Positive
92
17
nil
1
110
Negative
56
42
3
nil
101
Doubtful
10
7
2
nil
19
Total
158
66
5
1
230
i.e., 47.7 " positive " out of the whole herd.
On the result of this test he put up a recommendation to the
D. V. S. in India that they should take steps to ascertain the extent
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