100
Tuberculosis in Buffaloes
show that the Butyro Refractometric, Polenske and
Acid values are significantly higher and the Sapo-
nification, Reichert Meissl and Kirschner values
are significantly lower of the ghee from the milk
fat of the cow than that of the buffalo.
The replacement of the concentrate mixture in
the production ration entirely by cotton seed shows
that in the ghee from both the cow and the buffalo
the B.R. value increases, but all other constants
show a decrease. The qualitative change brought
about in ghee by cotton seed feeding is more pro-
nounced in buffalo ghee than in cow ghee.
The limits of variations in the constants of ghee
from cows and buffaloes under the present condi-
tions of study have been discussed, along with the
data of other workers.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to record their thankfulness to
Dr S. C. Ray, Head of the Animal Nutrition and
Dairy Chemistry Section of this Institute for his
help in the preparation of this paper.
REFERENCES
British Standard Methods for the Chemical Analysis of
Butter (1938). Brit. Standards Inst. 769
Doctor, N.S., Bannerjee, B. N. and Kothavalla, Z.R.
(1940). Indian J. Vet. Sci. & Anim. Husb. 10, 63
Report of the Analytical Methods Committee of the
Society of Public Analyst (1936). Analyst 61, 404
TUBERCULOSIS IN BUFFALOES
By P. R. KRISHNA IYER, Research Officer, Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar
(Received for publication on 19 January 1944)
(With Plate X)
TUBERCULOSIS in buffaloes is mentioned by several
authors. Kutchukoff [1909] noted the frequent
occurrence of the disease in draught buffaloes in
the Balkans, Turkey and some parts of Asia.
Tuberculosis is stated to be. more common in the
male than in the female. He adds that the
disease is rare in milch buffaloes even when
housed for years in the same byre as tubercu-
lous cows. He tuberculin-tested 20 milch
buffaloes and 24 milch cows stalled together
and found that 40 per cent of the cows and
only one milch buffalo reacted. He observed
that tuberculin gave a strong reaction in posi-
tive cases in the buffalo. Mitter [1910] reports
a case of tuberculosis in a buffalo in Calcutta,
with lesions present only in the lungs. Eber
[1917] refers to buffaloes in the abattoir at
Budapest as being affected with tuberculosis
to the extent of only 0.18 per cent. Piot Bey
[1917] observed that in the abattoir at Alexand-
ria, tuberculosis was not seen in young buffalo
calves, but only in animals three to five years
old. About 60 per cent of old animals, parti-
cularly females, were affected, and 1 to 2 per
cent of these showed large and multiple tuber-
culous lesions. In the abattoir at Cairo, tuber-
culosis is frequently seen in young buffaloes
and 7 per cent of all buffaloes slaughtered are
found affected, mainly with lesions in the
thorax and uncommonly in the abdominal
organs. Tuberculous lesions in the buffalo
are said to resemble those usually met with
in cattle, and some portions of the glands have
been found calcified. Soparkar [1925] tested
the susceptibility of different breeds of Indian
cattle and buffaloes to bovine tuberculosis and
found that buffaloes were apparently more sus-
ceptible than cattle. By subcutaneous inocula-
tion of 50 mg. virulent bovine culture in five to
six-month-old calves and 14-month-old buffalo-
calves he obtained a greater death rate in bu-
ffalo-calves. The same writer [1926] observed
a case of tuberculosis in a male-buffalo at
Mukteswar in India. This animal reacted
strongly to the double-intradermal tuberculin
test and on post-mortem advanced caseating
tuberculosis lesions were found in the medias-
tinal and bronchial glands. Soparkar and
Dhillon [1931] examined 1,116 animals (cows,
bullocks and buffaloes) in the slaughter house
at Lahore and found 255 animals, i.e. 22.05
per cent, infected with tuberculosis. The inci-
dence of tuberculosis in cows, bullocks and
buffaloes was 21.3 per cent, 31.6 per cent and
23.6 per cent respectively. Naik [1932] des-
cribed a case of tuberculosis in a female
Jafferabadi buffalo. The animal was in poor
condition, and had loose bowels, a short husky
cough, impaired appetite, pale mucous mem-
branes and accelerated respiration. On post-
mortem there was extreme emaciation, and
tuberculous lesions were present in both lungs,
and the mediastinal, bronchial, submaxillary,
posterior mammary and mesenteric glands, as
well as in the liver. Carpano [1934] considers
that in Egypt tuberculosis is more prevalent