NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
236
Pseudanoplocephala crawfordi
Fig. 1—Scolex of Pseudanoplocephala crawfordi, showing the suckers, neck and
the commencement of the longitudinal excretory canals. (Sc-scolex ; S-sucker ;
ec-excretory canals).
The scolex (Fig. 1) is small and measures 0.45 mm. in width. The suckers
are directed upwards and forwards and vary from 0.10 to 0.14 mm. in dia-
meter. The neck is constricted and measures 0.35 mm. in width.
Fig. 2—A portion of the strobila showing the pair of longitudinal excretory canals
and the genitalia. (t-testes; o-ovary; g.p-genital pore.)
PLATE XVI
[ Ind. Jour. Vety. Sci. & Anim. Husb., Vol. VIII, Pt. III
Microphotograph of the ova of Pseudanoplocephala crawfordi × 630
S.
VAITHIANATHA
K. S. GOPALAKRISHNA IYER. 237
The excretory system (Fig. 2) consists of a single pair of longitudinal canals
only, situated ventrally with no cross communication at the posterior end
of the segments. They are wide and wavy and measure 0.075 to 0.10 mm.
in width.
Genitalia.—There is a single set of reproductive organs in each segment.
A paired ovary with finger-like processes all round, a vitelline gland which
is also lobed, occupy the median, area of the segment. The vagina lies ventrally
to the cirrus which is lodged in a well-developed pouch or sac. The cirrus
is continued inwards into a fusiform vesicula seminalis into which the vasde-
ferens merges. The testes extend across the whole segment being more on the
aporal than on the poral side and vary from twenty-five to twenty-six in
number. The uterus is an elongated sac with many out-pockets and contains
ova (Plate XVI) measuring 0.10 mm.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are indebted to Rao Sahib M. Anant Narayan Rao for his
valuable help and the drawings and to the college artist, Mr. Duraiswamy
Mudaliar for the microphotograph.
CONCLUSIONS
An adult tape worm so far undescribed from India is recorded in this
paper. This appears to be a fairly common worm infesting the intestines of
domestic pigs in South India.
REFERENCES
Baylis, H. A. (1927). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 9, 19, 417 to 425.
Bhalerao, G. D. (1935). Sci. Mon. Imp. C. Agri. Res. No. 6, pp. 130 to 131.
Hall, M. C. (1924). Parasites of swine pp. 1 to 160.
Maplestone, Dr. P. A. & Southwell, T. (1923). Ann. Trop. Med. 17, 317 to 335.
STUDIES ON THE HELMINTH PARASITES OF INDIAN
POULTRY, PART II. THE OCCURRENCE OF
GAPEWORM IN FOWLS
BY
HAR DAYAL SRIVASTAVA, D.Sc.
Helminthologist (On special duty)
Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar-Kumaun
(Received for publication on 25th May 1938)
THE terms gapeworms, y-worms and forked-worms are applied to a
genus of strongyle nematodes—Syngamus v. Siebold [1836], which occur in
the adult stage in the trachea and bronchi of birds and mammals. In their
immature stage the worms inhabit the lungs and air sacs. As the name sug-
gests the males and females remain permanently joined in copula in the form
of the letter ' y '. The most important and widely studied member of the
genus is S. trachea [Montagu, 1811; Chapin, 1925], which occurs in the trachea
and bronchi of many species of birds of different groups. The parasite is
more or less cosmopolitan. In the Fauna of British India, Nematoda, Vol.
1, 1936, Baylis remarks, " The parasite is very widely distributed through-
out the world, but the only record from the Indian region appears to be from
the fowl at Colombo, Ceylon (v. Linstow)". In 1935 the author had oppor-
tunity to examine about a dozen chicken at Bareilly and recovered four speci-
mens of gapeworms from the trachea of two of them. The worms on care-
ful examination proved to be specimens of Syngamus trachea—a worm which
has not been previously recorded from this country. One of the birds was
found to be infested with Catatropis indicus Srivastava [1935]. In the
mature state S. trachea lives in copula attached to the mucous membrane of
the upper part of the respiratory tract. The eggs are laid by the gravid female
while still in copula and pass out under the margin of the bursa of the male
into the lumen of the trachea and bronchi. In their appearance the eggs
differ from those of other strongyle worms in the presence of a thickened oper-
culum at either end. They are in the 16-celled stage when laid. From the
trachea they are coughed up into the mouth and swallowed and are eventually
passed out with the droppings. Under suitable conditions of temperature
and moisture the eggs usually hatch in seven to ten days. The larva under-
goes a moult inside the egg shell. The second stage larva which retains the
cuticle of the first stage is infective and one ecdysis is skipped over in the
development of this parasite. It is, however, not necessary for the larva to
( 239 )
H. D.
SRIVASTAVA
241
Prevention is much more important than treatment. Infested birds
should be killed and the heads, respiratory and digestive organs burnt.
Chickens acquire infection from turkeys, wild birds or from eggs and larvae
carried over in the soil from previous infection. For about four to six weeks
chicks should be raised on board floors and the droppings should be removed
at regular intervals. They should never be kept on the same ground with
turkeys. Moist localities where earthworms are likely to occur should be
avoided. New chicks should be purchased out of clean flocks and quarantined.
Infection from wild birds should be avoided. In this country snipes are sus-
pected to serve as carriers.
The author is grateful to the Director and the Pathologist for much kind
encouragement.
REFERENCES
Baylis, H. A. (1936). The Fauna of British India Nematoda 1, 1-408.
Chapin, E. A. (1925). J. Agric. Res. 30, 557-570.
Montagu, G. (1811). Mem. Werner. Nat. Hist. Soc. Edinburgh i, 194-198.
Siebold, C. von. (1836). Arch.f. Naturg. ii, i, 105-116.
Srivastava, H. D. (1935). Proc. Acad. Sci. U. P. India, 4, 3, 283-287.
—(1937).
Proc. Ind. Sci. Cong. Sect. VIII, Abst. No. 47.
DISSEMINATION OF ANTHRAX INFECTION THROUGH
DIRTY STAGNANT POOLS *
BY
R. N. NAIK, G.B.V.C.
Veterinary Investigation Officer, Bombay Province
(Received for publication on 28th May 1938)
(With two text-figures.)
ANTHRAX is a disease of great economic importance as it is enzootic in
various parts of India and is responsible, during certain seasons, for heavy
losses chiefly among horses, cattle, sheep and goats. It is also of importance
in comparative medicine as it is transmissible to human beings through handl-
ing of infected materials.
Fig. 1—Mortality by anthrax in cattle during thirty years ending 1934-35.
A study into the prevalence of this disease during the last thirty years in
the Bombay Province reveals that it is enzootically prevalent in almost all
districts of the Province and that there was a sharp rise and fall in the mortality
* Paper read at the 24th Session of the Indian Science Congress, held at Hyderabad
(Deccan), 1937.
( 243 )
244
Anthrax Infection Through Dirty Stagnant Pools
curve (Fig. 1) during certain years, the cause of which is still unknown. It
is prevalent throughout the year causing heavy mortality from April to Sep-
tember and in the month of December (Fig. 2). In this connection, it would
be interesting to note that as an infection in the soil it is quite natural for
Anthrax to break out in an epizootic form during the grazing season which,
in most of the districts, begins from the latter half of June. The source of
infection during the months of April and May, when practically no grazing
is available, has, however, remained a mystery. It is not uncommon to
find stall-fed draught animals also succumbing to Anthrax during the summer
season and here again the source of infection was unknown.
Fig. 2—Anthrax in Cattle. Monthly average mortality. (11-years' average—
1924-35).
During the summer season of 1936 when green grazing was not available,
a number of outbreaks of an undiagnosed disease was reported from the Ratna-
giri district. Investigation which was carried out at the actual scene of these
outbreaks revealed that the disease was Anthrax. The writer also detected
a bullock which in spite of being daily yoked to cart and fed on dry foodstuffs
had fallen a victim to this disease. A careful search for the source of infec-
tion was, thereupon, made with the results that stagnant pools formed in the
beds of nullahs and rivulets appeared to be the only probable source as there
was clear history that animals which had died of Anthrax were daily driven
to such pools for watering purposes. An examination of these stagnant pools
showed a thin layer of shiny brittle scum floating on the surface and dirty
brownish water containing putrefying vegetable matter. Samples of water
were collected from two pools, one at Lanja and another at Wilavade, and
5 c.c. of each sample were injected into a guinea-pig. The guinea-pig injected
with the water sample of Lanja died within three days and its heart blood gave
rise to a pure culture of B. anthracis on agar medium.
R. N.
NAIK
245
This, it would appear, is a very important finding in the epizootiology of
Anthrax, inasmuch as water from stagnant pools has been proved to be the
source of natural infection of the disease perhaps for the first time in India and
that it will now be possible to check the occurrence of the disease especially
during summer by adopting suitable preventive measures.
This work has been carried out under the auspices of the Imperial Council
of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. The writer desires to express his grate-
fulness to Mr. E. S. Farbrother, M.R.C.V.S., I.V.S., Director of Veterinary
Services, Bombay Province, Poona under whose guidance this work has been
carried out. Thanks are also due to the Director, Imperial Veterinary Re-
search Institute, Mukteswar for the confirmation of the strain of B. anthracis
isolated by the writer from the stagnant pool.
PLATE XVII
[ Ind. Jour. Vety. Sci. & Anim. Husb., Vol. VIII, Pt. III
FIG. 1-a. Ventral view of Echinostephanus cloacum.
FIG. 1-b. Enlarged view of the head of E. cloacum.
C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
G.si . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mt . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
P.p . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
V.S . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cirrus.
Genital sinus.
Metraterm
Pars prostatica.
Vesicula seminalis.
A NEW PARASITE OF THE FAMILY ACANTHOCOI
PIDAE LUHE, 1909, FROM AN INDIAN HOST
BY
HAR DAYAL SRIVASTAVA, D.Sc.
Helminthologist (On special duty)
Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar-Kumaun.
(Received for publication on 25th March 1938).
(With Plate XVII).
Genus.—Echinostephanus Yamaguti, 1934.
Echinostephanus cloacum, n. sp.
Host—Latex calcarifer.
Habitat—Intestine.
Locality—Karachi and Puri.
IT is a common parasite infesting the intestine of a food-fish found in the
Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. In the living state the parasite is light-
brown in colour and possesses considerable power of contraction and expan-
sion. The body is linear with a slightly attenuated neck and a rounded pos-
terior end. It measures 6.12—8.92* in length and 0.6—0.8 in maximum
breadth which occurs usually at the level of the acetabulum. Usually the
body has a nearly uniform breadth. The spines on the body are fairly large
and have slightly hooked tips and triangular base. In the anterior region
of the body of the parasite the spines measure 0.02—0.03 × 0.004 in
size, but they become smaller in size and are fewer towards the
hind end. Around the anterior end there are thirty-four cephalic spines,
arranged in double alternating rows dorsally and in a single row
ventrally and laterally. The spines in the dorsal rows are slightly larger than
the rest and measure 0.057—0.061 × 0.015—0.019 in size. The cephalic
spines on the ventral and lateral sides are of 0.045—0.05 × 0.015—0.019
size. The funnel shaped oval sucker 0.12—0.14 × 0.22—0.3 in size is
anteriorly directed and bears the prominent oral spines described above. The
oval sucker is followed by a prepharynx 0.5—0.6 long, and an oval pharynx
0.22—0.28 × 0.2—0.22 in size. The oesophagus is extremely short and
in the contracted specimens it is hardly visible. The caeca are long and
simple and open at the hind end into the lateral sides of the excretory
bladder near its opening to the exterior. The acetabulum has a diameter
measuring 0.34 and is situated at about the middle of the anterior third of
the body length.
*All measurements are in mm.
(247)
248 A New Parasite of the Family A canthocolpidae Luhe
The two elliptical testes are situated in tandem and are separated from
each other by a distance of 0.1—0.3. The anterior testis measures
0.52—0.8 × 0.26—0.44, and the posterior one 0.62—0.66 × 0.3—0.4
in size. The latter is situated at a distance from the posterior end not
exceeding the length of the anterior testis. The cirrus sac is very long
and tubular and may extend posteriorly up to half the distance between
the ovary and the anterior end of the vitellaria. It encloses a tubular,
1.1—1.4 × 0.08—0.12, vesicula seminalis, a small pars prostatica, 0.2—0.3
× 0.014—0.06, surrounded by prostate glands, a long ductus ejacula-
torious and cirrus. Terminally the cirrus opens close in front of the aceta-
bulum. Almost the whole length of the ductus ejaculatorious may some-
times be found extended through the genital opening.
The ovary is small, 0.18—0.2 × 0.12—0.16, in size, and is situated
close in front of the anterior testis. The receptaculum seminis is absent
but the initial part of the uterus functions as the receptaculum seminis uteri-
num. Laurer's canal is given off from the oviduct. The compact shell
gland mass lies just in front of the ovary. The vitellaria are follicular and
extend from the posterior end to a little in front of the posterior half of body.
The follicles always meet in the median line behind the testes but in front of
them they seldom meet mesially. The yolk reservoir lies dorsal to the ovary.
The uterus is preovarian and contains a small number of eggs. The metra-
term is a well-developed long, tubular structure almost the same length as
the cirrus sac. The eggs are operculate, yellowish brown in colour and
measure 0.06—0.073 × 0.038 in size.
The genus Echinostephanus was created by Yamaguti in 1934 with E.
hispidus as the type species. The Indian form resembles the type species
in most of its features but can be distinguished from it by the number and the
arrangement of the oral spines. In the type species the oral spines are
forty-two in number and are arranged in double alternate rows dorsally and
ventrally and in a singular row laterally.
The author is grateful to the Director and the Pathologist of the Imperial
Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar, for their kind encouragements.
REFERENCES
Luhe, M. (1909). Parasitische Plattwurmer, I. Trematodes. Susswasserfauna
Deutschlands, Heft 17.
Srivastava, H. D. (1937). Proc. Ind. Sci. Cong. Sect. V, Abst. No. 22.
Yamaguti, S. (1934), Jap. J. Zool. 5, 3, 249-541.
THE OCCURRENCE OF AN UNRECORDED FILARID
NEMATODE, ONCHOCERCA CERVICALIS RAILLIET
AND HENRY, 1910, IN THE LIGAMENTUM
NUCHAE OF HORSES IN INDIA
BY
HAR DAYAL SRIVASTAVA, D. Sc.
Helminthologist (On special duty)
Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar-Kumaun
(Received for publication on 25th May 1938.)
RAILLIET AND HENRY in a paper on the classification of the genus Oncho-
cerca Diesing [1841], published in 1910 established a new species, O. cervicalis,
which according to them was very common in France. Subsequently this
nematode, which is commonly known as the neck threadworm, has been re-
ported from equines in several countries,—Australia, England, United States
of America and Africa. The parasite has been suspected to be the cause of
fistulous withers and pole evil, having been found in a number of cases of
the disease. The etiological relationship, however, between the worms and
the disease has not yet been definitely established, as the parasite has
also been met with in apparently healthy animals. Recently, Datta [1936]
has demonstrated the invariable presence of an unsheathed microfilariae
in the sections of affected skin from over twenty cases of Lichen tropicus
in equines in this country. As in several other forms of Onchocercaciasis,
the microfilariae are not found in the blood of the diseased animals. Though
the condition known as khojlee or Lichen tropicus in equines has been known
in this country for a very long time, the occurrence of O. cervicalis in Indian
hosts has not been previously reported. Through the kindness of Capt.
Datta the author received some pieces of Ligamentum nuchae from cases of
Lichen tropicus for examination. Entire ligaments from cases of the
disease subjected to post mortem examination at this Institute were also
examined. In three cases large numbers of inextricably coiled, fine, shining
white worms were present. On a detailed examination all of them proved to
be specimens of O. cervicalis. The adult worms usually occur between two
lamellar portions of the Ligamentum nuchae. In situ the worms resemble
the fibres so closely that it is almost impossible to follow the course of
the parasite for any appreciable length during micro dissection. Small,
hard, calcareous nodules varying in size from a pin head to a pea were often
found associated with the parasite. Usually the anterior end was found
embedded in the nodule.
( 249 )
250 Occurrence of an Unrecorded Filarid Nematode in India
The life-history of O. cervicalis has been worked out by Steward [1933].
It has been demonstrated that certain biting flies, Culicoides nebeculosus,
commonly known as midges, serve as the intermediate host of the parasite.
The midges take up the larval worms in the course of piercing the skin of
infected horses and, after a period of twenty-four to twenty-five days, the
infected midges contain larvae capable of infecting the final host.
No treatment for the destruction of the worms in the Ligamentum nuchae
is known, and it is obviously difficult to prevent horses from being attacked
by midges in localities where they occur. The avoidance of swampy pas-
tures, however, may be beneficial in controlling the parasite.
The author is grateful to the Director and the Pathologist of this Insti-
tute for their kind encouragement.
REFERENCES
Datta, S. C. A. (1936). Horse Breeding, 12, 1, 57-58.
Railliet, A. and Henry, A. (1910). C. R. Soc. Biol. 68, 248.
Srivastava, H. D. (1937). Proc. Ind. Sci. Cong., Sect. No. VIII, Abst. No. 52.
Steward, J. S. (1933). Univ. Camb. Inst. Anim. Path., 3rd Report, p. 272.
PLATE XVIII
[ Ind. Jour. Vety. Sci. & Anim. Husb., Vol. VIII, Part III
FIG. 1. Micipsella indica. n. sp. Worms in the clot of blood from portal vein ( Actual size)
FIG. 2. Section of liver showing a dilated central
vein containing microfilariae in blood
× 200
FIG. 3. Section of liver showing a microflaria in a
sinusoid × 750
MICIPSELLA INDICA, N. SP.
BY
M. ANANT NARAYAN RAO, G.M.V.C.
Lecturer in Parasitology, Madras Veterinary College, Madras
(Received for publication on the 16th June 1938)
(With Plate XVIII and one text-figure)
SIX years ago, a piece of liver from a hare, Lepus nigricollis, containing a
number of filariid worms was received from Tiruvannamalai, North Arcoe
district. The worms were in a clot of blood in the portal vein. Only somt
female worms were available for study then and because they resembled, to
a very great extent, the females of Micipsella numidica [Seurat, 1917], they
were recorded as such in the Annual Report of the Civil Veterinary Depart-
ment, Madras, 1932-33. It has now been possible to obtain some male worms
and a detailed study of these has shown some important differences between
these and the ones described by Seurat.
Seurat [1917] described Filaria numidica which he obtained from the
peritoneal cavity of Lepus species. In 1921, he created a new genus Micipsella
to receive those worms and renamed them Micipsella numidica. Kalantarian
[1924] described similar worms from rodents in Armenia and named them
Cercofilaria numidica which, according to Yorke and Maplestone [1926], are
synonymous with M. numidica. From the literature available, it would
appear that so far only one species has been described.
A description of the male and female worms, obtained from the portal
vein of the hare, is given below.
Females.—The length varies from 120 to 140 mm. The body is thread-
like and gradually tapers at both ends, the head end being more blunt than
the tail end. The cuticle is fairly thick and it is ornamented with two narrow
rows of inconspicuous bosses running along the lateral lines from near the
anterior end to almost the end of the worm. The mouth is a simple pore
surrounded by a circlet of very small papillary projections. A little behind
the oral opening are four small submedium papillae. The oesophagus is uni-
form in its width and opens into a fairly wide intestine. The genital opening
is a little in front of the level of the posterior end of the oesophagus. Opis-
thodelphes. Uterus contains unsheathed larvae. Viviparous. The tail
is slightly curved and its end is blunt.
( 251 )
252
Micipsella indica, n. sp.
Fig. 1 Micipsella indica n. sp. Tail end of male worm.
Male.—70 to 100 mm. long. The mouth, oesophagus, and the ornamen-
tation on the cuticle are as in the female. The tail end is spirally coiled and
the end is bluntly pointed. There are six to seven pairs of pre-anal and three
pairs of post-anal papillae. The spicules are short, subequal and dissimilar.
The left one is 0.14 mm. and the right one 0.11 mm. in length. The left
spicule has a distinct bulbous dilatation in its anterior third, the posterior
two-thirds being tubular. The left one is tubular throughout but widens out
somewhat at its distal extremity. The chitin of the posterior margin of each
spicule is thicker than the opposite side.
Table I shows the differences between the two species.
TABLE I
Name of worm
Micipsella numidica
[Seurat, 1917].
Cuticular ornamentation
along lateral
lines
Two broad
rows of
conspicuous
bosses.
The tail of male is cover-
ed on both dorsal and
ventral surfaces with
minute papillae in addi-
tion to above mentioned
rugosities.
Spicules
Sub-equal, similar.
Both have pointed
ends.
Post-anal
papillae
Two pairs.
M.
ANANT
NARAYAN
RAO
253
TABLE I—concld.
Name of worm
Micipsella
indica,
n. sp.
Cuticular ornamentation
along lateral
lines
Two narrow rows of in-
conspicuous
bosses.
The cuticle of the tail of
male has no papillae on
dorsal or ventral surfaces
excepting the rugosities
mentioned above.
Spicules
Sub-equal, dissimi-
lar. The left one
is longer and has a
distinct
bulbous
enlargement in the
anterior third. End
pointed. Right one
tubular
through-
out, but the end
widens out to some
extent to make it
appear blunt at its
extremity posteri-
orly.
Post-anal
papillae
Three pairs.
The above table shows clearly the differences between the two parasites,
so it is proposed to make a new species of the worm described and to name it,
Micipsella indica.
Specific diagnosis.—Female 120 to 140 mm. long. The simple mouth
is surrounded by a circlet of minute papillary projections. Cuticle ornamented
with two narrow rows of papillae following a more or less zigzag course along
the lateral lines. Vulva, a little in front of the posterior end of the oesophagus.
Opisthodelphes. Unsheathed larvae in uterus. Viviparous. Male 70 to
100 mm. long. Mouth oesophagus and cuticular ornamentation as in female.
Tail spirally coiled. Six to seven pre-anal and three post-anal papillae. Spicu-
les subequal. The left one is longer than the right and has a distinct bulbous
enlargement in its anterior third. The right one tubular with its posterior
end broadened somewhat.
Host.—Lepus nigricollis.
Location.—Portal vein.
Locality.—Tiruvannamalai, North Arcot district, Madras Presidency.
The liver showed passive congestion. It is not known if microfilariae
are met with in the peripheral blood of infected hares.
REFERENCES
Kalantarian, E. V. (1924). Reports of the Tropical Institute of Armenia No. 1
(quoted by Yorke and Maplestone).
Seurat, L. G. (1921). Bull. Soc. d'Hist. Nat. del' Afrique du Nord, 12, 31 (quoted
by Yorke and Maplestone).
Yorke, W. A. and Maplestone, P. A. (1926). The nematode parasites of
Vertebrates. J. A. Churchill, London.