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have submitted returns of contagious diseases this year, but those sent in by
Bankura, Hooghly, Howrah, Murshidabad, Darbhanga, Monghyr, Bhagalpur,
Cuttack, Balasore, Angul and Puri appear to be under-estimated. The atten-
tion of the authorities of the districts concerned have been drawn to the
figures.
8. (a) Equines:—Glanders.—There were 160 deaths from glanders this
year; of these 87 occurred in Sodepur Pinjrapole and 24 in Hazaribagh
Pinjrapole; the remainder were detected in the districts of Burdwan, Hooghly,
Murshidabad, Darjeeling, Jessore and Sambalpur. At Burdwan the outbreak
was serious and affected the Raj stables principally; 64 horses were tested, and
of these 13 proved to be glandered and were destroyed. The second serious
outbreak occurred in the district of Hooghly. The disease is very prevalent
here, owing to its proximity to Calcutta, and to the fact that diseased ponies
are smuggled there, if they are able to escape the Calcutta glanders staff;
13 horses were destroyed out of 44 horses tested with mallein. All the
hackney ponies and their stables were inspected frequently during the year.
The local Veterinary Assistant, K. B. Dey, worked well. Outbreaks also
occurred at Kandi and Berhampur, district Murshidabad.
Twenty-four
ponies were seized, out of which 14 proved to be diseased and were destroyed.
The Presidency Inspector and the local Veterinary Assistant visited the
stables and ponies in other parts of the district, but no diseased animals could
be found. The cases reported from other districts were of a sporadic nature
and affected very few animals: all incontact horses were tested with mallein
and those that reacted were destroyed.
9. A matter of great importance in the suppression of glanders and other
scheduled diseases has been the extension of the Glanders and Farcy Act of
1899 to all districts under my jurisdiction. Compensation for the horses
destroyed was granted to some of the very poor owners, the total amount for
the province being Rs. 69 only.
10. Anthrax.—Six deaths from this disease are reported from Patna
district, but in none has the diagnosis been confirmed by bacteriological
examination.
11. Surra and Dourine.—No deaths from Surra or Dourine were reported
during the year.
The number of deaths from "Other Contagious Diseases" in horses was
220, against 112 of the previous year. No details under this head are forth-
coming.
12. (b) Bovine.—Rinderpest,
Foot-and-Mouth disease, Hæmorrhagic
Septicæmia, Black Quarter and Anthrax were the principal contagious diseases
reported among bovines during the year.
13. Rinderpest.—This disease was prevalent in most districts of the
province, but was more particularly noticeable in Sambalpur, Midnapore, Gaya,
Sonthal Parganas, Darjeeling, Burdwan, Birbhum, Nadia and Khulna. Bihar
has a comparatively clean bill of health, though Gaya and Purnea report a
considerable number of deaths. The total number of deaths was 8,869, against
8,490 of the previous year. An increase in the number of reported deaths
from Rinderpest as well as from the other contagious diseases may be looked
for each year, as more Veterinary Assistants and Inspectors will be posted
to the districts, and greater attention can be paid to the prompt advice of
outbreaks, than is now the case.
14. As usual, in the Darjeeling district a virulent type of the disease
appeared during the cold weather, about the end of December, and continued
until the beginning of March; not many animals were attacked, but there
was a high mortality amongst those affected. It appeared at the Senchal
Dairy Farm and caused the death of 29 cattle including 23 inoculated. Some
goats on the Farm were also affected with the disease. An outbreak occurred
at the 7th mile of the Kalimpong road, but it was quickly suppressed by the
Veterinary Assistant, Kalimpong. In other districts inoculation and segrega-
tion were employed.
15. Foot-and-mouth disease.—This malady was widespread in the province,
and caused 2,374 deaths. It is not a fatal disease and rarely of itself brings
about death among village cattle, but it may so lower the animals' resistance
against the attacks of other more dangerous diseases, that they are unable to
withstand their onset.