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During the past and present year Major A. W. Dawson, I.M.S., stationed
at Roorkee, has been fortunate enough to observe the course of several cases
and has made careful examinations of the bodies of those animals which
succumbed. This officer found that the symptoms observed coincided with
those attributable to Aconite poisoning ; and on subcutaneous injection of a
dose of Aconite into an experimental animal produced the following chain of
symptoms :—
Depression, restlessness, trembling, insensibility to the prick of a pin,
muscular weakness and staggering gait, inability to assume the recumbent
position although constantly trying. Frothing from mouth and discharge of
mucus from the nose, sweating in fatal cases only, spasms in muscles of the
neck (attempts at vomition), laboured inspiration, at last the animal falls to
the ground and is unable to get up again. I trust that Major A. W. Dawson
will follow up this work, and if he has not already discovered the species of
aconite growing in the country surrounding Roorkee, he will not let the subject
drop until he has thoroughly elucidated the question.
(i) Lymphangitis Epizootica.—At the urgent request of the Director,
Army Remount Department, requesting me to undertake investigations into
the causes of two independent outbreaks of disease at Hapur (North-Western
Provinces) and Karnal (Punjab) Reserve Remount Depôts, affecting horses
and mules in the former and mules alone in the latter station; I proceeded
on March 24th, 1900, to Karnal and arrived on the 26th. The following are
short resumés of the chief facts noted at each depôt respectively :—
Karnal.—Between the 7th and 10th November 1899, 447 Italian and 96
Cyprian mules were received at Karnal. The former animals had been shipped
at Naples and brought to Calcutta from which port they were entrained and
conveyed to their destination by rail. All the affected animals, Nos. 395, 634
and 266, have been detected amongst the Italian mules. The first case to
occur was that of No. 395 on the 18th December 1899. The patient presented
a chain of abcesses connected by corded lymphatics starting from shoulder and
running up the neck following the course of the jugular vein. No reaction
(thermal or local) with 1 c. c. MacFadyean's Mallein.
This animal was
destroyed on January 5th, 1900. Local lesions only, all internal organs
presented a perfectly healthy appearance. Mule No. 634.—Contused wounds
off fore, slight wound inside tendon and fetlock. These were noticed on De-
cember 13th, 1899, and between this date and January 2nd, 1900, fluctuating
swellings were observed running up the inside of the arm. Destroyed 9th
February 1900. Local lesions, internal organs healthy. No reaction with
Mellein.
Mule No. 266.—On February 11th, 1900, this animal presented several
small fluctuating tumours on the right side of the chest, over the ribs, and a
thick corded lymphatic proceeded from the root of the neck and ran down
between the fore legs, from before backwards along the under surface of the
abdominal wall. Destroyed 12th March 1900. Local lesions, internal
organs present a perfectly healthy appearance. No reaction with Mallein.
Hapur Remount Depôt.—A disease considered to be Glanders had ap-
peared in a horse which had been admitted to Hospital in December 1898, for
a contusion of the near hock, as suspicious symptoms were observed by the
Veterinary Officer early in February 1899, the animal was segregated outside
the limits of the Depôt. Between March and May of the same year other
cases in hospital commenced to develop suppurating ulcers around the wounds
or contusions for which they had been admitted. Animals so affected were
placed apart from others, and at a later date were sent to the segregation
Paddock, where the first case noticed had been interned in the previous
February. It was not until the visit of Veterinary Lieutenant W. A. Pallin on
15th May 1899, when he formed the opinion that all the affected animals were
suffering from Glanders, and reported to that effect, that the disease was consi-
dered to be of a serious nature. The strictest precaution as to segregation, etc.,
were then immediately instituted and the Mallein test was applied at first to the
suspected cases and later to all equines in the Depôt. Subsequently during
a period of 12 months many of the Remounts were subjected to three tests by
Mallein.
At the time of my visit, March 3rd, 1900, I was informed that some 112
c.b. horses and mules had been destroyed, many having reacted in one or more