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In February it was reported that only five cases had occurred during that
month, but the outbreak must have been a severe one as 436 are shown as
having died in January. In April, when the last report was received, the
disease appears to have been stamped out in Gilgit.
But in May the disease appears to have reached Kashmir, as it is
reported in Buniar near Baramulla. This, I fear, is due to the opening of the
passes and the transit of affected cattle. We are now watching its progress, in
order, if necessary, to establish quarantine and inspection posts as was done in
1894, when rinderpest existed in the Kashmir Valley.
Rinderpest was reported by the Governor of Jammu to be raging in some
villages of Jammu; on receipt of this information I placed myself in communi-
cation with the Punjab Government, with the result that sanction was accorded
to the Deputy Commissioner, Sialkot, which district was more threatened than
any other, to impose quarantine on cattle proceeding from Jammu. Veterinary
Assistants were also at once posted to watch for cattle that were imported (i)
via Nakhaul and Zufferwal, (ii) viâ Ranbhirsinghpura, and (iii) by the Chaprar
route. These precautionary measures had, I am pleased to be able to report,
the desired effect of preventing its introduction into the Sialkot district.
Foot and mouth disease.—This disease may be said to be universal and of
annual occurrence in India. No reports regarding its prevalence have been received
from Madras, Bengal, or the Central Provinces, but from those received from
the North-Western Provinces, the Punjab, and Bombay would show that the
disease is of common occurrence, in fact so common that the zemindars attach
little importance to it except when it attacks animals which are required for
immediate work. Fortunately it is not a serious disease, excepting that it
throws animals out of work, and thereby causes much inconvenience. When
cases which are affected in the feet are neglected, maggots are grown in the
exposed surface wounds, and this condition gives rise to much trouble. The
zemindars treat all these cases very successfully, as I have already stated in my
reports on the districts. Veterinary Captain Pease in his report for the year
1895-96 says : " There is one point about this disease which I should like
to mention, and that is that it is not necessary to isolate animals which
are suffering from it." This I entirely concur with, and it may be also
stated that no good results will ever be realized by endeavouring to enforce
segregation. Not only will it be useless in itself, but, it will be impossible to
carry out, as the people know that it is a benign disease, and therefore will
take no pains or trouble to isolate the sick animals. It will be well for author-
ities, under whom the Veterinary Assistants appointed to the Tehsils, and
other subordinates work, to recognise this, and there should be no attempt to
worry the zemindars unnecessarily. All the zemindars from whom I made
enquiries recognised the benignity of this disease, and troubled little about it,
as they were aware of the small percentage of fatalities which followed attacks.
Anthrax and Anthraciod diseases.—In most of the districts visited, the
most serious disease reported, with the exception of rinderpest, was malig-
nant sore throat, known by various Vernacular names. It usually attacks
animals immediately after the rains, and is most serious in low-lying
localities which are subject to inundations, or where the soil becomes to
a certain extent waterlogged. Those from whom I derived my informa-
tion considered it the most serious disease which attacked cattle. The
reason of this was probably due to the fact that the attacks were almost
invariably fatal; moreover, they were of so sudden a nature that the disease
ran its course before any remedies were of use. They therefore ceased to give
any medicines, and thought that the only way to stave off the disease was to
offer prayers and use charms.
Malignant sore throat, so far as I was able to ascertain, was mostly con-
fined to buffaloes, and to those between the ages of one and two years old or
perhaps a little older. It appears suddenly among a herd and as suddenly
disappears. The animals atttacked are frequently, apparently, in excellent
health and condition before being affected, but the disease runs its course in
such an alarmingly short space of time that the animial dies in probably few