MUKTESAR, FOR THE TWO YEARS ENDING THE 31ST MARCH, 1924 49
that, with increased experience, during the year 1923-24, out of 5,158
blood smears examined, Theileria mutans was definitely demonstrated
in 1,368, and Piroplasma bigeminum in 244. These figures represent
chiefly the proportion of microscopically demonstrable infection in
cattle passing through a rinderpest reaction, and hence may be regarded
to a considerable degree as indicating parasites resuscitated by the tissue
depression from their dormant or " carrier " state. Much information
is, however, required concerning the infectivity and pathogenecity of
parasites designated by the name Theileria mutans. It is not improb-
able that all cattle in India are infected with this kind of. parasite, and
that the infection is not productive of any serious effects upon the host.
It is important to impress upon the minds of field worker, particularly
those who are in charge of the active immunisation of cattle against
rinderpest, that the detection of these small piroplasms in the blood,
even in relatively large numbers, is not necessarily a sign that the animal
is exposed to grave risk. Infection with the large piroplasm, however,
even in small numbers, or in numbers too small to be detected, by an
ordinary microscopic examination, may be fraught with serious con-
sequences, and steps should be taken immediately to forestall its further
development; fortunately, we now have in trypanblau a drug which
checks most effectively disease due to the parasite provided it is given in
timely, adequate dosage. In the routine instructions issued from the
laboratory for the active immunisation of cattle against rinderpest it
is now recommended, therefore, that animals showing a sudden rise
of temperature after injection of the virulent blood, derived probably
from a bovine infected with the red-water piroplasm, should be admi-
nistered trypanblau if they show any suspicious sudden rise of tempera-
ture at the expiry of the presumed incubation period of infection with
this parasite, seven to ten days usually after the injection.
A discovery of very considerable importance was made by Mr. Cooper
in the course of the organised examination of routine pathological material
at the laboratory. On June 12th, 1922, a hill bull was examined post-
mortem that had died 17 days after inoculation with rinderpest virus,
and the lesions discoverable bore a suspicious resemblance to those of the
East Coast fever of African cattle. Microscopic examination of the lesions
revealed in abundance structures quite indistinguishable from the so-
called " Koch's blue bodies " associated with the African disease and
an extremely rich infection of the red blood cells with piroplasms iden-
tical in appearance to Theileria parva, the causal organism of the disease.
During a period of exactly one month following upon this discovery a
total of six cases of similar infection in cattle was detected, but other-
wise throughout the rest of the year no more cases were found in the
1,248 bovines examined post-mortem. During the 1923-24 season three
undoubted cases of this kind of affection were detected, and rare Koch's
bodies were believed to be found in the large mononuclear cells of a liv-
ing animal, that afterwards recovered. Of the six 1922-23 animals,
five died within 5 to 17 days after infection with rinderpest virus,
while one was a recently purchased bull that had not been used for any