286
Goat Virus Vaccination in the Central Provinces & Berar
1 c.c. of blood virus from goat No. 768 was given subcutaneously and their
thermal reaction and milk yield recorded both morning and evening. The
second batch of animals (three cows and two buffaloes) was injected with tissue
virus prepared from the same goat No. 768 ; their reaction and milk yield
recorded both morning and evening. The third batch of four animals (two
buffaloes and two cows) was injected with blood virus along with 20 c.c. and
10 c.c. of ordinary anti-rinderpest serum respectively. In all the animals
their reactions and milk yield were recorded regularly both morning and even-
ing for ten days. The highest loss was noticeable in the case of blood virus,
which went as high as 52 per cent, then comes tissue virus to the extent of
30 per cent, the lowest loss being 25 per cent due to blood-cum-serum. The
table showing the details of the experiment is appended in Appendix F.
The above experiment points to the conclusion that with a view to ob-
viate the risk of loss in milk yield, " the virus-cum-serum " method of inocula-
tion is the safest one to adopt.
(g) Feeding of cattle during reaction period
Although this problem could not be studied very thoroughly due to
lack of proper facilities for this type of work in the villages and also due to
paucity of funds, the observations made in the course of investigation both in
villages and Government dairies, however, show that in well-fed animals
receiving sufficient grain ration and succulent fodder containing vitamin A,
during the reaction period, the bodily condition is not much affected. The
loss in milk yield is also less as compared with that of animals kept in a neglec-
ted state. The necessity of feeding the animals liberally during the reaction
period after goat virus inoculation is, therefore, quite obvious and all the more
so in the case of milch animals.
(h) Resuscitation of protozoan diseases
This important problem was thoroughly looked into by making clinical
observations as well as by microscopic study of blood smears obtained during
different phases of the reaction period on as many as 2,180 cattle. This
led to finding of Babesia bigeminum, the cause of Piroplasmosis in fifty-seven
animals and Theleria mutans in 387 cases. In the majority of cases which had
shown the presence of Babesia bigeminum in the blood circulation, the clinical
symptoms of the disease were totally absent and the animals were mere carriers
of the disease. In the case of Theleria mutans infection not a single case had
shown any evidence of clinical symptoms of the disease, which goes to prove
that the presence of this type of protozoa is of no serious consequence in the
course of active immunization of cattle with goat virus against rinderpest as
far as indigenous breed of cattle are concerned. As regards the resuscitation
of Trypanosome infection, its occurrence during active immunization work has
not been observed, but in the enzootic area during the season of its incidence
every precaution should be taken, as it is liable to cause great complications
in view of its nature of assuming virulence all of a sudden (The details of
blood examination are given in Appendix D.)