70
The following horses submitted by the Veterinary Assistants as suspected cases of Surra
were the subjects of either light-red conjunctival petechiæ or had a rise of body temperature.
Microscopical examination of the blood revealed the following results:—
TABLE LXX.
Serial
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Animals
No.
45
41
40
169
43
42
41
30
28
46
45
48
33
35
Colour.
Chestnut .
Brown
Grey .
Dark brown
Brown
Bay .
Dunn.
Black.
Bay .
Roan.
Grey .
Dark grey .
Grey .
Bay .
Owner's name.
Lalta Persad
Asgar Ali .
Ditto
Hossein. .
Ditto
Asgar Ali .
Lalta Persad
Rooknudin .
Ditto
.
M. Hossein.
Asgar Ali .
Lalta Persad
R. D. Khan
Ditto
Stable.
Mohand .
„
„ .
„
„ .
„
.
„ .
„ .
„ .
} Landiabra and Tunbara.
Surra
Hæmatozoa.
Absent .
„
„
.
„
.
„
.
„
.
„
.
„
.
„
.
„
.
{„.
„.
„.
„.
Filaria
Papillosa.
Absent
„
.
„
.
„
.
„ .
„
.
„
.
„
.
„
.
„
.
Present .
Absent .
Present .
Absent .
Bursati sore.
REMARKS
The temperature, pulse and
respiration were taken and
} blood examined, for four
days.
Bursati sore.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Examined blood
microscopically
on three occa-
sions.
Temperature 103.9°F.
3 Filaria in specimens.
...
5 in first specimen, 9 in second
specimen.
...
The opinion of a Syce with 17 years' experience, with regard to whether the suspected cases
on the Mussoorie Dâk line were Surra, is worth recording. He said: " These cases are not Surra;
the bad eyes are caused by the heat and dirt. The skins of Surra animals get so hot we cannot
touch them, the eyes get yellow, the limbs and under surface of the belly swell and the animals
do not only pass much water but eat more and more until we get tired of feeding them.
The horses get thin, walk in a zig-zag, and then die."
As early as 1891, I was able to demonstrate the presence of the Surra parasite in
the blood of certain flies* caught near to or on the bodies of animals (horses, bovines, dogs)
suffering from that disease, and also observed three varieties of organisms, resembling
somewhat those of the Surra parasite in the blood of certain species of fish, members of the
three following families and genera, taken from rivers in the Deccan, on the West Coast of
India:—
(a) Rhynchobdellidæ.
Genera, (I) Rhynchobdella—sp. R. Aculeata.
(II) Mastacembelus—sp. M. Armatus.
(b) Cyprinidæ.
Genus, Barbus
—sp. B. Carnaticus.
(c) Ophiocephalidæ.
Genus, Ophiocephalus
—sp. O. Striatus.
* Nawab Khan, the camel jemadar of the 3rd Punjab Infantry, has the reputation of knowing more about
camels than any body else in the District, and he communicated to me the following information, as interpreted
by Major Money, 4th Punjab Cavalry :—
" The prevailing opinion among the natives in this district is that surra is caused by the bite of a large
brown fly (the size of a small bee) called bhura dhang.
In the month of May that fly comes from the ground
in jungle-land that has been under water. In June and July the flies are very numerous and in full force;
about the 15th August they begin to diminish, and early in October they are obtained with difficulty. The fly
bites horned cattle and donkeys, but they suffer no ill effects; it bites men, and a painful swelling follows ; it
bites horses and camels, and gives them a fatal disease known by several names, such as Khauhog doaia and
Surra, depending upon the several stages. Phipri is another name by which it is known among camels. I know
of no reason for saying that the fly causes the disease except the common tradition of my people."
Report on ' Surra' disease—G. Evans, Esq., M.D., Inspector, Veterinary Surgeon, British Army,
dated 13th November 1880.
Kay-Lees has attributed to the Tse-tse, but without sufficient proof, the mortality accurring among Horses
and Mules of the English Army in Northern India.
Kay-Lees—Glossina Morsetenes, or Tse-tse Fly, Veterinary Journal, XXVI, 1888, page 79.
In the forest regions of Korea insect pests abound in the summer months. Mosquitoes, gnats and gad-
flies make the lives of the settlers perfectly burdensome for two or three months of the year, and ponies and
bulls quickly succumb to their attacks. The houses are kept constantly filled with birch smoke to drive
them off; cattle are protected by fires of green wood in the open, and men working the clearings carry coils of
rope made from dried artemesia, which burns slowly and emits a pungent odour, for the same purpose.
Campbell, C. W.—A Journey through North Korea, etc., 1892.