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APPENDIX C.
Note on the extent to which the serum simultaneous method of
inoculation against Rinderpest can be carried out amongst the
cattle of India, particularly with reference to the best way of
supplying each province with the necessary virulent blood.
(F. WARE, M.R.C.V.S., Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, Madras.)
Now that the point has been definitely settled by the work which has been done in the last
two years amongst military dairy cattle that even pure-bred Australian cattle can be satisfac-
torily immunized by the serum simultaneous method against rinderpest with a very small
percentage of losses, it is necessary to consider ways and means for introducing this method as
soon as possible amongst the cattle of the civil population of this country and so do away with the
necessity for relying only on the serum alone method which has several limitations, to combat
this disease. The serum simultaneous method might be undertaken in two classes of animals,
viz., (1) as an animal inoculation of the animals of a herd, which had not previously been
done, whether rinderpest were prevailing in the neighbourhood or not, and (2) amongst the
animals of a herd or village actually affected with the disease, in order to obviate the necessity
of re-inoculating the unaffected animals several times while the disease lasts.
As regards the first class, the virus for the initial inoculations would have to be procured from
Muktesar or Bareilly, unless a specially virus producing station can be started in each province.
This however soems to be a difficult thing to arrange, principally owing to the difficulty of
obtaining suitable animals in sufficient numbers.
Supposing that the initial supply of virulent blood is obtained from Muktcsar, owing to the
lack of a local virus producing station, the supply of virus for the second inoculation of the primary
herd and inoculations of succeeding herds of cattle, many of them containing imported blood
like those belonging to the Military Dairy Farms, it is easy to arrange for a few young susceptible
animals to be sacrificed to supply virus for both the purposes mentioned, but this would often
be very difficult to arrange when dealing with animals belonging to private individuals.
When dealing with a herd of country-bred animals it would probably not be possible to obtain
suitable virus producers at all, and when some of them contained imported blood it would be
just those that the owner would want to protect most.
By arranging to inoculate the herds of several owners together, it might be possible some-
times to obtain the 2 or 3 susceptible calves required but this would be the exception rather than
the rule.
In addition, there is the fact that the people of this country dislike taking life, which is really
what happens to the virus producers, so that in dealing with animals belonging to natives of the
country it would be preferable, if we wished the method to become popular amongst them,
to obtain the virus from outside.
In dealing with outbreaks of rinderpest in villages, groat difficulty is found at least in some
parts of the country, in persuading the people to give their cattle the opportunity of contracting
inoculation with sorum, and it seems possible that at least some of them would not object to the
simultaneous inoculation, provided the virus were obtained from outside and they did not see
the animals bled. It would bo a great advantage, therefore, and save much time and serum
by avoiding further re-inoculation if arrangements could be made to give the animals of those
people willing for it a dose of virulent blood simultaneously with the serum.
The chief points for discussion therefore are whether any arrangements can bo made locally
in each province for the supply of virulent rinderpest blood and, if not, whether the Director of
the Muktesar Laboratory can arrange to supply the provinces with it in the quantity likely to
be required.