MUKTESAR, FOR THE TWO YEARS ENDING THE 31ST MARCH, 1924 25
(e) Mallein. The manufacture of mallein was undertaken to supply
the different forms of product required by field workers. In 1922-23,
21,279 doses were prepared and 13,484 issued, inclusive of 390 doses
specially prepared for use in the intra-palpebral test for glanders; the
remainder was ordinary mallein, for the subcutaneous test, issued in
1 c. c. doses. These figures compared with 47,144 doses of ordinary mallein
prepared and issued in the preceding year. In 1923-24,52,812 doses were
prepared and 29,162 issued; the issues comprised 15,162 doses of ordinary
mallein (at 1 c. c. per dose), 9,000 doses of mallein (diluted 1:4 from con-
centrated) for the intra-palpebral (or intra-dermo-palpebral, " I. D. P.")
test (at 0.1 c. c. per dose), and 5,000 doses of concentrated (to one-tenth
from ordinary) mallein for the ophthalmic test, at 0.25 c. c. per dose.
Prior to the period under report the Army Veterinary Services had ob-
tained for the conveniently executed intra-palpebral test a French product
(Malleine diluée, au ¼) through the Director General, Indian Medical
Services. Very careful tests with infected horses were undertaken at
Muktesar in the winter of 1922-23 on the efficacy of the product that
could be made here as compared with the French product obtainable,
with results that showed the local product to be at least as efficacious as
the imported product, and that it could be sold to the Army Department
at a favourable price. The proposal to supply the product at these rates
received the sanction of Government by the middle of April 1923.
(f) Tuberculin. In 1922-23, 442 doses of tuberculin were prepared
and issued, as compared with 2,054 doses prepared and 2,066 issued during
the preceding year. In 1923-24, 14,004 doses were prepared and 2,724
doses issued. The increased manufacture during the latter year was
due to the steps that were taken to prepare a stock of a special tuberculin
from cultures of tubercle bacilli of the avian type, for the diagnosis of the
disease condition in cattle known as Johne's disease. The evidence availa-
ble shows that tuberculosis is a rare disease of cattle in India, and may be
considered to be absent from the important milch herds of the country,
such as are maintained at the Government Military Dairies for the supply
of the troops. However, examinations performed in the laboratory
during the period under report showed that a serious infectious condi-
tion, manifested as a chronic enteritis, and known as Johne's disease,
set up by an organism rather similar to the tubercle bacillus in many of
its features, was not uncommon in some of the dairies and caused consi-
derable loss. Animals infected with this disease do not respond to tuber-
culin prepared in the ordinary way for the diagnosis of tuberculosis,
from bacilli of the bovine or human types, but they react during the early
stage of infection when they are injected with tuberculin made from bacilli
of the avian type. In the circular printed instructions issued concerning
this disease, attention was called to this mode of diagnosis and the
necessary products were prepared for use in carrying it out.
Again, on account of the marked diurnal fluctuations that occur in
cattle on the plains of India brought in for testing with tuberculin, a
method was advocated for lending corroborative evidence to the