NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
K. S. NAIR, D. NILAKANTA AYYAR AND A. R. MADHUSUDAN 387
Calves Nos. 155 and 156 have, however, shown a slight thermal rise after
the retest dose and this can only be regarded as due to causes other than Rinder-
pest reactions. Perhaps it was due to Theileriasis since Theileria mutans
was present in the blood of these animals.
Ordinarily, a dose of more than 30 c.c. of serum per 100 lb. body-weight
is not employed in serum simultaneous inoculations in which case a blocked-
out reaction is not produced, and when a blocked-out reaction does occur as a
result of employment of higher doses, it does not interfere with the establish-
ment of immunity. The conception that a blocked-out reaction will not
confer a high degree of immunity is not in conformity with the results obtained
in this study.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Under the conditions of this experiment the immunizing value of a
' blocked-out' reaction was not inferior to those in which symptom synd-
rome was present.
2. This phenomenon can be brought about among susceptible buffalo -
calves in serum simultaneous inoculations by giving a uniform dose of 1 c.c.
of Rinderpest virus to each individual and 40 c.c. or more of anti-
Rinderpest serum to every 100 lb. body-weight of the animal.
SUMMARY
Experiments were undertaken to find out if a ' blocked-out ' reaction
brought about by massive doses of serum in animals inoculated by serum
simultaneous method, would interfere with the production of immunity.
Young susceptible buffalo-calves were inoculated by the serum simultaneous
method employing an infective dose of 1 c.c. of virus and serum at doses of
25 c.c. 30 c.c., 35 c.c., 40 c.c., 45 c.c., and 50 c.c., per 100 lb. body-weight.
From a study of the reactions in these calves, it was observed that calves that
received serum up to 35 c.c. per 100 lb. body-weight reacted to the inocu-
lation and those that received higher doses did not show any reaction but
without interfering with the production of immunity as judged by the
absence of reactions in these calves to a subsequent test dose of virus. So,
it is concluded that 'blocked-out' reactions do not in any way hamper the
production of immunity.
H
Ind. Jour. Vety. Sci. & Anim. Husb. Vol. IX Part IV ]
PLATE XXXII
A bullock suffering from cutaneous microfilariasis
( six years old )
CUTANEOUS MICROFILARIASIS IN INDIAN CATTLE *
(PRELIMINARY REPORT)
BY
HAR DAYAL SRIVASTAVA, M.Sc., D.Sc.
Helminthologist (On Special Duty)
Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar
(Received for publication on 4th May 1939)
(With Plate XXXII)
IN recent years a number of important diseases of Indian domestic animals,
which had baffled solution for a long time, such as bovine Nasal Schistosomiasis
and Hump sore, equine hepatic cirrhosis, Bursati and Lichen tropicus, etc.
have been definitely proved to be of helminthic origin. In this paper the
author describes yet another disease of Indian cattle which is due to helminthic
infestation.
It is a peculiar, chronic form of skin disease affecting cattle at certain
places in the Bombay Province to which attention was drawn by the Director,
Veterinary Services, Bombay, during one of his visits to this Institute. Subse-
quently, through his courtesy, a six-year old bullock suffering from the disease
was received at this Institute. When the animal arrived at the Institute, it
had practically no hair on the greater part of its body. The skin showed
numerous scars of healed lesions generalized all over the body and from
several places pieces of skin had peeled off. The skin was very tender and
peeled off in patches at the slightest injury or abrasion, leaving bright-red,
bleeding surfaces, which attracted swarms of flies. Nevertheless, the animal
was in good bodily condition and fed well (Plate XXXII). However, it is not
difficult to imagine that the working capacity of the affected animal must
have been considerably reduced on account of the numerous wounds and
constant irritation.
Though sections of pieces of skin from the animal revealed the presence of
numerous microfilariae, repeated examination of blood smears and the centri-
fuged deposits from large quantities of blood proved to be negative for adult
worms and larvae. However, large numbers of microfilariae were recovered
from fresh pieces of skin incubated overnight in normal saline at body tem-
perature. The microfilariae are unsheathed and measure 0.252 to 0.28 mm.
in length and 0.004 mm. in breadth. They have a rounded anterior end and a
*Paper read at the meeting of the Section of Veterinary Research of the Indian
Science Congress, 1938
(389)
H. D.
SRIVASTAVA
391
being unsheathed microfilariae. The disease in Indian cattle differs from
that in the Japanese cattle in the absence of any predisposition of the skin of
certain parts of the body, nodules in the skin, thickening of the skin at the
neck, etc., with subsequent elephantoid development and in the absence of the
microfilariae in the blood. Further, the larvae found in the Indian cattle are
larger in size than those of the Japanese.
The author is deeply grateful to Mr. W. Taylor, M. R. C. V. S., D. V. H.,
I.V.S., Offg. Director, and Mr. T. J. Hurley, M. R. C. V. S., D. V.S.M.,
I. V. S., Offg. Pathologist, Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar,
for their much kind encouragement.
REFERENCES
Oguni,H.(1927).
J.Jap.Soc.Vet.Sci.,6,188-90
Srivastava, H. D. (1938). Proc. Ind. Sci. Cong. Sect. XI, Abst. No. 5
Ind. Jour. Vety. Sci. & Anim. Husb., Vol. IX Part IV ]
PLATE XXXIII
FIG.
1. Life-cycle of P. macrorchis
(After Macy, 1934)
FIG. 2.
Life-cycle of Davainea proglottina (After Reis and Nobrega)
THE IMPORTANT HELMINTH PARASITES OF
POULTRY—THEIR TREATMENT AND CONTROL
BY
HAR DAYAL SRIVASTAVA, M.Sc., D.Sc.
Helminthologist (On Special Duty)
Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar
(Received for publication on 1st November 1938)
(With Plates XXXIII—XXXV)
POULTRY farming is one of the most profitable adjuncts to a successful
agricultural enterprise. But parasitic diseases exercise the greatest influence
on the success of poultry breeding. Worm infestation often works havoc
among broods. Instances are not wanting when most of the birds in a flock
are lost, either directly or indirectly, as a result of worm infestation. For
successful poultry farming, therefore, it is essential that the farmer should
realize that his profits are hinged upon his efforts to keep his flock free from
worms. The economic method of controlling worm infestation, is prevention
and not cure. The low unit value of the bird renders extensive individual
treatment impracticable, which in many cases may cost more than the bird
is worth. The oft-repeated warning that an ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of cure finds no better illustration than in poultry farming.
All the different groups of helminths—flukes, tapeworms, round-worms
and thorny-headed worms—infest poultry, often in large numbers, but in this
article only the important parasites will be dealt with.
THE TREMATODES OR FLUKES
The most harmful trematodes of poultry belong to the genus Prosthogo-
nimus. These parasites usually inhabit the bursa fabrici, but, in laying birds,
certain species enter the oviduct and are often responsible for serious losses
amongst poultry. Among domestic birds these parasites have been reported
from fowls, turkeys, geese and ducks. Various species of wild birds are also
known to harbour these parasites. For the completion of the life-cycle, these
worms require two intermediate hosts : the first, as is usual with trematodes,
is a snail and the second is a dragon-fly. The infestation of poultry with these
flukes takes place through the ingestion of young and adult dragon-flies har-
bouring encysted metacercariæ (Plate XXXIII, fig. 1).
( 393 )
396
Important Helminth Parasites of Poultry
A number of monostomatous trematodes of the genera Notocotylus and
Catatropis and the distome Harmostomum commutatum parasitize the caeca
and in rare cases rectum of the fowl, duck, goose, turkey and wild birds.
These flukes are usually not harmful, but in heavy infestations may produce
inflammation and necrosis of the caeca due to irritation. The life-cycle of
H. commutatum is not known. The cercariae of the monostome encyst on
aquatic vegetation and snails, whose ingestion is responsible for the infection.
No satisfactory treatment is known, but the one recommended for the caecal
round-worm may be tried.
Another group of monostomes which infest birds belong to the family
Cyclocoelidae. These parasites live in the body cavity, air sacs, trachea and
the nasal cavity of the duck, goose and other aquatic birds. The cercariae
encyst in the first intermediate snail host which transmits infection. The
larvæ reach their final habitat probably via the blood stream. These parasites
cause obstruction of the trachea and the host may die of asphyxia. No
treatment is known. Infected waters should be avoided and attempts may
be made to exterminate the snails.
A small skin-fluke—Collyriclum faba—occurs in subcutaneous cysts in the
fowl, turkey and a number of small wild birds. The cysts are usually found
around the cloacal region but in heavy infestations they extend along the
abdomen and thorax. The cyst varies from 4 to 6 mm. in diameter and
contains two worms, with their ventral surfaces opposed, a black fluid
and eggs, which are discharged through a central opening. In heavy
infestations the health of the bird is considerably impaired. There is pro-
nounced anaemia, emaciation and paralysis resulting occasionally in death.
The unsightly condition of the skin, which has the appearance of blisters,
greatly decreases the market value of the bird. The life-history of the parasite
is not definitely known, but it is suspected that dragon flies serve as the second
intermediate hosts. No medicinal treatment is known. The cysts may be
opened and the parasites removed, followed by suitable treatment of the
wound.
Certain members of a small family—Philophthalmidae—of medium-
sized flukes occur in the conjunctival sacs of the fowl, duck and peacock.
The biology and the pathogenicity of these parasites have not been worked
out. However, in heavy infestations they may give rise to inflammation and
necrosis of the mucous membrane.
Blood flukes occur in the mesenteric and pelvic veins of ducks. These
parasites lay their eggs, which are provided with a terminal spine, in the small
blood vessels of the intestinal wall. The eggs gradually penetrate through
the wall of the intestine and reach its lumen, and finally pass out with the
faeces. The cercariae develop in a snail and on emerging from it swim about
in water. On coming in contact with some suitable final host, they actively
penetrate into its skin and reach the mesenteric and pelvic veins, where they
attain maturity. The parasites are not very pathogenic but the eggs may
H.
D.
SRIVASTAVA
397
occasionally produce inflammatory processes in the intestinal wall. No
satisfactory treatment is known. Avoidance of infected waters and the des-
truction of snails may help to control the infestation.
THE CESTODES OR TAPEWORMS
A large variety of tapeworms commonly infest poultry. They all occur
in the intestine and vary in size from a few millimeters to about a foot in
length. The eggs, either separately or contained in mature segments, are
passed out with the droppings ; but the development of the larval stage de-
pends on the eggs being taken up by some suitable intermediate host, in the
body of which they develop. A variety of invertebrates, such as slugs, snails.,
earth-worms, insects and crustacea, etc., serve as intermediate hosts of the
tapeworms infesting poultry. When an intermediate host is swallowed by a
suitable bird, the contained larval tapeworm is set free in the intestine. It
attaches itself to the wall of the gut and rapidly develops into an adult tape-
worm (Plate XXXIII, fig 2).
As adults, tapeworms live in the intestinal tract of the final host, and
through their body absorb nutrients taken in by the bird. However, in light
infestation, they do not have any marked detrimental effect on the health
of the bird. Turkeys and geese are most susceptible to the harmful effects of
cestode infestations, but fowls are less so. Ducks are rarely affected and
may harbour large numbers of worms without suffering much harm. Though
the different species of tapeworms of poultry vary greatly in their pathogeni-
city, in heavy infestations they all rob the host of much of its food. The
birds become unthrifty and show an unkempt appearance of the feathers,
droopiness, thirst, emaciation and anaemia. At first, appetite may remain
good but it gradually diminishes. The irritation caused by these worms
produces derangement of digestion and catarrhal condition of the bowels. In
laying birds, egg-production may be decreased or even suspended. The birds
suffer, from extensive muco-catarrhal enteritis, manifested by diarrhoea, the
excrement being usually streaked with blood. Convulsions or partial paraly-
sis, the leg being specially involved, may also develop. Young birds suffer
most and their growth is considerably retarded. The dwarf tapeworm-—
Davainea proglottina—penetrates deep into the mucosa, producing marked
enteritis, which is frequently hæmorrhagic in heavy infestations, while the
young forms of Raillietina echinobothrida and R. tetragona cause the formation
of nodules resembling those of tuberculosis. The wall of the intestine is
markedly thickened. The nodules may be visible from the peritoneal surface
and contain necrotic tissue and leucocytes. In light infestations, the bird is
rendered susceptible to other diseases like roup, while more severe infestations
frequently cause death.
Though the above symptoms and the presence of a large number of
proglottids or eggs in the faeces will reveal tapeworm infestations, specific
diagnosis should be made by finding the worms at autopsy. If there
H. D.
SRIVASTAVA
399
repeat the treatment in three to four weeks, if necessary. Besides strobilæ
of tapeworms, Iodine Vermicide kills and removes all the Ascaridia and acts
on a fair proportion of the caecal worms. Considerable number of young
Ascaridia, however, may be situated deep in the crypts of the mucosa and
thus escape the action of the drug. However, a second treatment will remove
all of these if sufficient time is allowed for their development and passage into
the lumen of the intestine.
In literature a large number of drugs, such as carbon tetrachloride, areca
nut, turpentine, cotton seed oil, thymol, arecoline hydrobromide, con-
centrated lye, brilliant green sulphate and brilliant green picrate, etc., have
been mentioned for the treatment of taeniasis in poultry ; but most of these
have been found to be unsatisfactory and discarded following the discovery
of more effective treatments.
The frequent failures of even the most efficacious anthelmintics are due
to the results of poor poultry management, which cannot be made up by
merely administering a worm remedy occasionally and doing nothing more to
check the spread of infection. The large numbers of invertebrates, which
serve as intermediate hosts of tapeworms, complicate control measures against
these parasites. Prevention consists in making it impossible for birds to
consume the intermediate hosts, and for the latter to acquire infection. Pro-
per disposal of droppings, screening of drooping boards, frequent cleaning and
disinfection of poultry houses, rotation of yards and the removal of all materials
which will provide favourable environments for the growth of the intermediate
hosts will considerably help in the control of taeniasis.
THE NEMATODES OR ROUND-WORMS
Birds usually harbour a very large number of different species of round-
worms in various parts of their body. Nematodes may cause considerable
loss to the poultry farmer annually. One of the commonest nematodes of
birds is the large intestinal round-worm, belonging to the genus Ascaridia.
These parasites enjoy a world-wide distribution and occur in the fowl, duck,
goose, guinea-fowl, turkey and a number of wild birds. The worms usually
occur in the intestine, but, occasionally in heavy infestations, they may be
found in the gizzard and caecum or they may migrate into the crop and oesopha-
gus. The adult female worms lay large numbers of eggs in the intestine of the
host. A mature female may contain 1,500 eggs at a time and in its life-time
it may lay more than 50,000,000 eggs. The eggs pass out with the droppings
and develop in the open. Under suitable conditions of temperature and
moisture, the eggs become infective in about eight days and contain the second
stage larvæ. The infective eggs are particularly resistant to inclemencies of
weather. They gain access to the host through contaminated food or
water. Though a few eggs may hatch in either the crop, glandular stomach
or gizzard, most of them hatch in the small intestine, a few centimeters
posterior to the entrance of the bile duct. For the first five days, the
larvæ live free in the lumen of the intestine or in the intervillar spaces. From
Ind. Jour. Vety. Sci. & Anim. Husb., Vol. IX Part IV ]
PLATE XXXIV
FIG. 1. A. Photograph of parasitized chick (with Ascaridia lineata); fourteenth
day of parasitism; fed embryonated eggs at age of fourteen days;
typical of fatal cases ; heavily infested.
B. Control chick from the same hatch ; eight grams heavier at beginning
of experiment, 68 grams heavier two weeks later when picture was
taken (After Ackert and Herrick)
FIG. 2. Section of chicken intestine showing larva of A. lineata destroying
Brunner's glands between villi (After Ackert)
Ind. Jour. Vety. Sci. & Anim. Husb., Vol. IX Part IV ]
PLATE XXXV
FIG.
1. Life-cycle of the caecal worm (After Reis and Nobrega)
FIG.
2. Life-cycle of Tetrameres sp. (After Reis and Nobrega)
H. D.
SRIVASTAVA
409
A few species of thorny headed worms—Acanthocephala—occur in the
small intestine of the fowl, duck, swan, goose and wild birds. Certain
crustacea serve as the intermediate hosts of these worms. The worms are
provided with proboscis which lie deeply buried into the mucosa and produce
small nodules at the points of attachment. These nodules are visible from
the peritoneal surface. The worms may be responsible for diarrhœa, anaemia
and in cases of heavy infestations serious losses may result among ducks.
No sure treatment is known but carbon tetrachloride or nicotine preparations
may be tried. The birds should be kept away from stagnant waters in which
the intermediate hosts may be found.
The author is grateful to the Offg. Director, Mr. J. R. Haddow, B.Sc.,
M.R.C.V.S., D.V.S.M., I.V.S., for kindly going through the manuscript and
offering some useful suggestions. He is indebted to Drs. Macy, Rais,
Nobrega, Ackert and Herrick for the illustrations in this article.
A TECHNIQUE FOR CUTTING SERIAL SECTIONS OF
CHITINOUS OBJECTS*
BY
S. N. SAPRE, B.Sc., G.B.V.C.
Research Scholar, Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar
(Received for publication on 15th June 1939)
(With one text-figure)
THE cutting of serial sections of chitinous objects has been called by
Guyer [1936] the ' microtomist's despair', while Bolles Lee [1928] regards
it as a ' grim business'. Likewise, Eltringham [1930] refers to the ' evil
tendencies' of the chitin which is ' liable to defeat almost every known
method of section-cutting'.
For some time past, the author has been working on the anatomy and
histology of Ornithodorus papillipes Birula (O. crossi Brumpt) and, by the
application of a method which he has developed as a result of extensive ex-
perimentation has succeeded in obtaining satisfactory serial sections of these
ticks without injuring the internal parts.
Fifteen fixatives recommended by various workers were tested in this
connexion and the two main conclusions that emerged out of these tests were
that fluids containing formaldehyde were not suitable for fixing chitinous
objects and that the addition of nitric acid improved the action of the fixa-
tive.
The formula of the fixative used by the author is as follows :
Mercuric chloride, saturated solution in absolute alcohol
.
Chloroform . . . . . . . . .
Acetic acid . . . . . . . . .
Picric acid, a saturated solution in 90 per cent alcohol
.
.
Nitric acid . . . . . . . . .
30 c. c.
25 c. c.
15 c. c.
25 c. c.
5 c. c.
The material is fixed for half to one hour and then placed in ' diaphanol'
(otherwise known as chlorodioxydacetic acid) for softening the chitin further.
The diaphanol is obtainable from firms in England but it can also be prepared
in the laboratory as follows [Schmidt, 1921] :—
Take 4 gm. of powdered crystalline potassium chlorate and 15 gm.
of powdered crystalline oxalic acid in a flask and add 2 c. c. of water.
The flask is now kept in a water bath at 60° C. and the liberated gas (chloro-
dioxyd) is passed through a wash-bottle containing a few c. c. of water and
dissolved in 500 c. c. of water in a brown glass bottle (Fig. 1), which is kept
* Paper read at the Indian Science Congress held at Lahore, January, 1939.
( 411 )
L
412
Cutting
Serial Sections of Chitinous Objects
inside a container and surrounded with ice and salt. After the liberation of
the gas is complete, the bottle is removed and to its contents are added 4
gm. of potassium chlorate and 750 c. c. of 50 per cent acetic acid. The bottle
is now stoppered and kept in a refrigerator for at least 24 hours and the result-
ing preparation is called ' diaphanol'. With diaphanol it takes nearly two
and a half to three days to soften the chitin of ticks (O. papillipes) with one
change of the fluid after the first 24 hours. For insects four hours may possibly
suffice.
Fig. 1
B.—Brown bottle containing 500 c. c. of distilled water surrounded by
ice and common salt;
W. T.—Wash tube containing a few c. c. of distilled water ;
W. B.—Water bath kept at 60°C. ;
F.—Flask containing 4 gm. of potassium chlorate, 15 gm. of powdered
oxalic acid and 2 c. c. of distilled water ;
T.—Thermometer.
For dehydration, instead of alcohol, dioxan (diethylene dioxide) was
used, on account of its freedom from the property of hardening the chitin.
From diaphanol the material is transferred either directly to dioxan or after
treatment with a hot saturated solution of sodium bisulphite to remove chlorine
and subsequently with distilled water to remove sulphurous acid. In dioxan,
the material is kept for nearly five hours or overnight, with one change of the
fluid. It is then removed to a mixture of two parts of melted paraffin and one
S. N.
SAPRE
413
part of dioxan and kept at a temperature of 55° to 60° C. for about an hour
and in melted paraffin only for an equal amount of time, with one change of
the paraffin. It is then embedded and cut in the usual manner.
If the double embedding method is to be used, the following points should
be noted:—
1. Prepare a solution of celloidin directly in pure clove oil without, as
generally recommended, initially dissolving it in a mixture of
alcohol and ether.
2. Keep the object for at least a total period of 12 to 15 days in the
' thin ' and' thick ' solutions of celloidin.
3. After the block is made, keep it in a mixture of paraffin and chloro-
form at 37° C. overnight.
4. Transfer to paraffin for half an hour. Embed and cut as in the
ordinary paraffin method.
5. The stretching of the sections on a hot plate is facilitated by the use
of the following mixture, instead of distilled water [Ruyter,
1931]:—
Methyl benzoate . . . . . . . . . .
Acetone . . . . . . . . . .
Distilled water . . . . . . . . . .
1 minim.
2 c. c.
8 c. c.
The mixture has a softening effect on the celloidin without dissolving it,
but greater precaution is necessary against over-heating the sections.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is grateful to Mr. S. K. Sen, M.Sc., F.R.E.S., under whom he
is working at present, for his valuable suggestions.
REFERENCES
Eltringham, H. (1930). Histological and Illustrative Methods for Entomologists.
p. iii
Guyer, M. F. (1936). Animal Micrology, 64-5
Lee, Bolles (1928). Microtomists Vade-Mecum, 510
Ruyter, J. H. C. (1931). Ztschr.f. Wiss. Mikr. 48, 226-7 (Abstr. in J. Roy. Micro
Soc. 52, 150 ; 1932)
Schmidt, E. (1921). Bericht. Deut. Chem. Gessell. 54, 1860 and 3242