NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
7
(h) Small Animals.—The following table shows the number of healthy
small animals used in experiments and the number remaining in stock
at the end of the year :—
Animals.
Rabbits
Guinea pigs .
Dogs .
Fowls .
Rats
.
Turkeys
Balance
on
1-4-31.
175
204
2
12
27
1
Pur-
chased.
77
49
84
85
..
..
Born.
116
126
..
..
22
..
TOTAL.
368
379
36
97
49
1
Issued
for
Experi-
ment.
158
145
22
78
24
..
Sold.
1
2
..
..
..
..
Died.
102
132
13
16
..
1
TOTAL.
261
279
35
94
24
1
Balance
on
31-3-32.
107
100
1
3
25
..
III.—PRODUCTION.
For the second year in succession a drop in the demand for several
of the products of this Institute has to be reported. Chief amongst
those showing a decline is Anti-Rinderpest serum, of which nearly 7½
lacs of doses less were sold to customers during the year under report,
and the whole of this occurs under special serum, which is intended for
use in Serum-simultaneous inoculations.
At first sight this would appear to indicate that there is a retrogres-
sive movement in the provinces towards ' Serum alone ' inoculations
again when dealing with Rinderpest, but this is not actually the case,
for a more detailed examination of Appendix II of the last two years'
reports shows that in many provinces there has been a distinct increase
in their requirements of special serum, and the Military Department
took nearly twice as much in 1931-32 as in the previous year.
The drop in the demand occurs amongst the three largest customers
of this Institute for this product in the previous year, and Madras alone
took nearly 7 lacs of doses less. To a large extent this is accounted for
by the fact that Rinderpest subsided considerably in the south of India
during the year under report, but it may be pointed out that we cannot
expect any increase in the demands of Madras for this product in future
years, for that province has recently decided to manufacture its own
Anti-Rinderpest serum.
Burma took no special Anti-Rinderpest serum during the year under
review, as compared with one lac of doses in 1930-31, and the Central
Provinces took 57,000 doses less. The reasons for the decline in the
demand from Burma is not known, but it is presumed that in the Central
Provinces the difference is to be accounted for by the fact that in those
provinces a method of immunising animals against Rinderpest with
goat virus alone has recently been introduced on a large scale, as a result
of the work with this virus which was initiated at this Institute in 1927.
8
The decline in the demand for the main products of the Institute is
reflected in the year's work of the Imperial Veterinary Serum Institute,
Izatnagar, all the figures of which show a decrease, as compared with
those of the previous year. On the other hand the demand for such
products as Haemorrhagic Septicaemia vaccine, anti-Anthrax serum,
Mallein and Tuberculin, which are still produced at Muktesar under
the supervision of the Head Laboratory Assistant, was well maintained.
IV.—INSTRUCTION.
The annual post-graduate refresher course was held from 20th April
to 27th June 1931, when the following officers attended :—
(1) Major J. J. Mills, R.A.V.C.
(2) Major G. F. Watkins, R.A.V.C.
(3) Mr. S. M. Sarwar, M.R.C.V.S., Punjab Veterinary Department.
(4) Mr. S. K. Sen, B.Sc., M.R.C.V.S., Bihar and Orissa Veterinary
Department.
(5) Mr. B. K. Badami, G.B.V.C., Deputy Superintendent, H. E. H.
the Nizam's Veterinary Department, Hyderabad (Deccan).
(6) Mr. P. S. Kuppuswamy, G.M.V.C., Veterinary Assistant Surgeon,
Madras.
(7) Ch. Muhammad Sharif Khan, B.A., G.P.V.C., Assistant Pro-
fessor, Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore.
(8) Mr. R. M. Purushotham, G.B.V.C., Veterinary Inspector, Mysore
State.
(9) Mr. Muhammad Yakub, L.V.P., Research Scholar from the
Punjab.
(10) Mr. M. G. Sekharan, L.V.P., Veterinary Inspector, Mysore
State.
At the completion of the course the last-named continued at the
Institute for a further 16 months' laboratory training.
The following officers attended short courses of training during the
year :—
Major G. Williamson, R.A.V.C.
Major J. Keane, R.A.V.C.
V.—RESEARCH.
Owing to the financial crisis this Institute, in common with other
Government Departments, was called upon early in the year to effect
retrenchment and find savings out of a staff and budget which were
already insufficient to carry out its research commitments. It is true
that the General Purposes Retrenchment Committee of the Central
Government recommended that " the activities of this Institute should
9
not be curtailed ", but at the same time its budget was subjected to the
general 10 per cent. cut and further reductions, many of which were
recommended by the Retrenchment Committee, were carried out re-
sulting eventually in a reduction of Rs. 1,91,000 on a sanctioned budget
of Rs. 8,27,000.
It was inevitable that this should lead to some curtailment of the
research activities of the Institute, particularly those for which large
experimental animals, the purchase of which was reduced to a minimum,
are required. On the other hand the demands made on the Institute
from outside sources did not decrease and the amount of routine work
performed in the research sections was as great as ever.
With the departure on leave of Mr. Cooper, who had supervised all
the technical work at Muktesar in the previous two years, it became
imperative to introduce, as an internal arrangement, the reorganisa-
tion of the research staff into three large sections of Pathology, Serology
and Protozoology, referred to in last year's report, and the effect of this
has been very gratifying. There has been very much smoother running
of the technical side of the Institute, with expeditious disposal of routine
matters and much greater opportunities for personal research on the
part of the senior members of each section.
The most notable advance made during the year was the discovery
by Capt. Datta, on 23rd December 1931, of sections of a Schistosome
worm in material removed from cases of Bovine Nasal Granuloma, a
condition which is widespread in India. Although a good deal more
work remains to be done, before the whole story of this disease is
understood, yet the above discovery makes a very important addition
to our knowledge regarding it, and it is considered advisable to place
the exact date of this discovery on record.
In regard to Rinderpest, further experiments with vaccines prepared
from different tissues and organs were continued, but with no greater
success than in previous years, and this work has, therefore, been
dropped for the time being. Mr. Haddow, however, took up several
questions connected with the properties of the Rinderpest virus in bulls
and goats and correspondence was continued with the authorities in
Bengal in regard to using a reduced dose of serum with bull virus or
goat virus alone as an improved method of immunising cattle against
Rinderpest. Since the close of the year under review, information has
been received that goat virus alone is being used as a vaccine on a large
scale in the field in the Central Provinces and steps have already been
taken by this Institute to aid in the extension of this experiment to other
parts of India.
The position in regard to Theileriasis in this country was rendered
more confused during the year by the outbreak at Kirkee in imported
bulls referred to in Mr. Sen's report, and it seems that no finality will
be reached on the question of the identity of the parasite responsible
until the Protozoologist, to be supplied by the Imperial Council of
Agricultural Research for a period of 5 years, is appointed. Attention
10
may also be called to the interesting condition of Anaplasmosis, cases
of which were reported from outside Muktesar for the first time during
the year.
For the numerous other conditions dealt with by the technical staff
during the year, a reference may be made to the reports of the three
sections of Pathology, Serology and Protozoology, which are printed
separately for the first time.
Altogether 1,536 specimens in 467 consignments were received from
outside sources and dealt with by the above three sections during the
year, as compared with 923 specimens in 463 consignments in 1930-31.
The details of the specimens are given in Appendix IV and their origin
was as follows :—
Army Department .
.
.
.
Provincial Civil Veterinary Departments
Indian States
Private persons
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
TOTAL
.
.
.
.
.
325
77
13
52
467
VI.—PUBLICATIONS.
The papers named below were submitted for publication by members
of the staff during the year under review. Except where otherwise
stated they have appeared or will appear in the Indian Journal of
Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry :—
Mr. G. D. Bhalerao.
(1) Note regarding Parasitic gastritis among cattle produced by
Mecistocirrus digitatus.
(2) Trematode parasites of Pigs in Bengal (Rec. of the Ind. Muse.)
(3) On a new species of Acanthocephala from Ophiocephalis striatus
(Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.)
(4) Observations of the life history of Fasciola gigantica and some
experiments to destroy the intermediate host. (Paper read at the 19th
Ind. Sci. Cong.)
(5) A general account of the Helminth parasites affecting domesti-
cated animals in India with methods of collection, preservation, staining,
etc.
(6) Helminth Parasites of the Domestic Animals in India-Monograph
(In the press).
(7) The Trematode Parasites of the Indian Elephant, Elephas indicus
(in the press).
(8) A new method of mounting small museum specimens (Paper
read at the 19th Ind. Sci. Cong.).
11
Mr. R. N. Naik.
(1) Agglutinability of Homologous and Heterologous strains of
Brucella organisms during the course of B. abortus, Bang, infection.
(2) Tuberculosis in a cow-buffalo with a review of the disease in
India.
(3) Agglutination of different strains of B. mallei.
(4) Agglutination reaction due to Mallein injected in horses.
(5) A simplified method of rapid agglutination test for bacterial
diseases.
Mr. S. K. Sen.
(1) Prophylaxis against Equine Surra by means of " Bayer 205 "
(Naganol).
(2) The Control of Blood-sucking insects in India.
(3) Further instalments of " A Veterinary Entomology for India "
(in collaboration with the Imperial Entomologist, Pusa).
Capt. S. C. A. Datta.
(1) Double caecum in a goat—A case of Anatomical peculiarity.
(2) The Etiology of Bovine Nasal Granuloma.
Mr. A. C. Roy.
(1) Calcium and inorganic phosphorous contents of blood sera of
some healthy calves in Muktesar (Paper read at the 19th Ind. Sci. Cong.).
(2) Seasonable variations of some mineral constituents in Muktesar
Hill Pastures. (Paper read at the 19th Ind. Sci. Cong.).
Dr. K. C. Sen.
(1) The roll of calcium in carbohydrate absorption (Paper read at
the 19th Ind. Sci. Cong.).
Mr. P. C. Banerji (in collaboration with Major K. S. Simpson, R.A.V.C.).
(1) Cases of poisoning in horses with rati seeds (Abrus precatorius)
by oral administration.
Mr. F. Ware and Mr. P. C. Banerji.
(1) The Control of Foot and Mouth disease by Iodine.
E
12
VII.—FINANCE.
According to Appendix V the income of the two Institutes for the
year is Rs. 10,20,021 and the expenditure Rs. 6,47,026, as compared
with figures of Rs. 12,00,381-6-0 and Rs. 8,29,409 respectively, in
the previous year. The drop in income can be attributed to (1) a
subsidence of Rinderpest in one of the major provinces, (2) a change in
the method of prevention of this disease, and (3) the general prevailing
exancial stringency. The effect of this decline on the financial position
of the Institute, however, has not been so marked as might have been
expected, for by drastic retrenchment, particularly in the purchase
and feed and upkeep of animals, a considerable saving in expenditure
was effected, with the result that the net profit for the year exceeded
that of the previous year.
VIII.—GENERAL.
It is, of course, repeating only a commonplace to say that the year
which has just passed was one of great difficulty, and a very special effort
was required on the part of everyone to carry on the traditions of the
Institute, in spite of the most adverse conditions due to the acute financial
stringency. As expected, however, each and every member of the staff
rose to the occasion cheerfully and helped to tide the Institute over the
difficult period, the worst of which it is to be hoped is now passed.
It has already been explained that it was found necessary to split
up the technical work at Muktesar into three sections, but as this scheme
has not yet received the final sanction of the Government of India it was
not possible to reward the head of each Section with the special pay which
is part of the scheme. Special mention must, therefore, be made of
Capt. S. C. A. Datta, Mr. M. B. Menon and Mr. S. K. Sen, who held charge
of the Sections of Pathology, Serology and Protozoology, respectively,
for varying periods during the year with considerable success without
extra remuneration.
One of the main recommendations of the Retrenchment Committee
was that the post of Personal Assistant to the Director, which has been
held by an experienced officer from outside Muktesar for the past three
years, should be abolished, and as a result of this the Institute, since
the close of the year, has lost the services of Khwaja Abdus Salam of
the Punjab Civil Service. His great experience in administrative matters
was of immense value to the Director during the reorganisation of the
Institute, which has been carried through in spite of, and in some cases
became of, the necessity for retrenchment.
Under the new organisation there are now 9 Section Officers
at Muktesar, in charge of three Research and six Service Sections, each
directly responsible to the Director, and this arrangement has resulted
in a definite increase in efficiency, combined with economy. In addition
to those Section officers already named, it is desired to mention Messrs.
W. P. S. A. Griffiths, P. C. Banerji and Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, who
13
administered the Engineering, Veterinary and Estate Sections respec-
tively, with marked success during the year.
The holding of a monthly meeting of all technical gazetted officers
on the staff, to discuss and criticize the work of each research section,
was instituted during the year, and it already holds forth the promise
of proving of considerable value in co-ordinating the work of the Insti-
tute, on the elucidation of problems connected with the diseases of
livestock in this country, into a homogeneous whole.
The following distinguished officers visited Muktesar during the year
under review :—
Mr. C. R. Chadwick, M.R.C.V.S., Director, Civil Veterinary Depart-
ment, Iraq.
Mr. F. C. M. Cruickshank, I.C.S., Deputy Commissioner, Naini Tal.
Mr. K. Hewlett, O.B.E., M.R.C.V.S., J.P., Principal, Bombay
Veterinary College.
Mr. F. T. Jones, C.I.E., M.V.O., Superintending Engineer, I Circle,
Central Public Works Department, New Delhi.
Colonel A. Olver, C.B., C.M.G., Animal Husbandry Expert, Imperial
Council of Agricultural Research.
Mr. E. A. Smythies, I.F.S., Conservator of Forests, Kumaon Circle,
14
REPORT OF THE PATHOLOGY SECTION.
(Capt. S. C. A. DATTA, B.SC., M.R.C.V.S., Temporary Veterinary
Research Officer.)
I.—JOHNE'S DISEASE.
The infected herd started last year in a special isolation chupper
was maintained and a few new animals were added to it. In accordance
with the plan which had been previously drawn up, vaccination of
alternate calves with the Johne bacillus was carried out within a few
hours of their birth.
The frequency of cases of double infection with acidfast organisms,
such as the Johne bacillus and the Tubercle bacillus, has been observed
and has suggested the possibility of one infection predisposing to the
other, rather than the reverse.
As regards the treatment of Johne's disease by non-specific protein
therapy, a certain amount of apparent success has been obtained at this
Institute in the use of spleen extract and it has been found that animals,
previously diagnosed as suffering from Johne's disease and treated with
egg-albumin, have shown no signs of the disease on post-mortem examina-
tion. Other definite cases of Johne's disease have shown marked retro-
gression of the disease after a sojourn of about two years at Muktesar
without any form of treatment, and one is tempted to enquire whether
environment may not play a considerable part in the incidence and
progress of this condition.
The possibility of the treatment of Johne's disease by means of a
bacteriophage was raised by Major T. F. Arnold, R.A.V.C. Bacteria
free fæcal filtrates from clinical cases obtained from him were tested
for phagic action on cultures of the Johne bacillus on agar slants and in
broth tubes but no lysis was observed on the growths.
II.—TUBERCULOSIS.
Three strains of B. tuberculosis were recovered from two bulls and one
cow and have been maintained. These cultures are now being examined
by Mr. Cooper, who is on study leave at Cambridge, with a view to
classify them.
As the strain of " Muktesar Avian " culture was found to be consider-
ably reduced in virulence, an attempt was made to exalt it by passage
through different animals. The culture was passaged through three
series of fowls and finally through bulls but the results were disappointing.
15
III.—BOVINE NASAL GRANULOMA.
This peculiar widespread affection of the nasal chamber of cattle
in India has been mentioned in the preceding reports of this Institute
from 1923 onwards. Preserved tissues of bovine Rhinosporidiosis and
buffalo Actinomycosis were obtained through the kindness of the
Principal, Madras Veterinary College, and a comparative histological
study was undertaken on Nasal Granuloma and these allied conditions.
It was soon realised that the specific features of these conditions show
certain striking differences, and on these indications being pursued
intensively, the definite finding of Schistosome worms and their ova
in the lesions of Nasal Granuloma was recorded in December 1931.
Twenty specimens of preserved tissue were available in the Muktesar
collection, these having been obtained from over a dozen animals from
various parts of India from 1922 onwards, and a prolonged study of
this valuable collection confirmed the above-mentioned finding. More-
over, adult worms resembling S. spindalis, Montgomery, were recovered
from samples of fresh tissue removed from clinical cases at Muktesar
and bilharzial ova of the spindalis type were demonstrated in the nasal
discharges from three cases at the Military Dairy Farm, Jubbulpore,
kindly forwarded by Major G. F. Watkins, R.A.V.C. A detailed report
of this work is being published in the Indian Journal of Veterinary
Science and Animal Husbandry.
With regard to the chemotherapy of Nasal Granuloma, the results
of the preliminary experiments with Antimosan show that the drug
is very slightly toxic and is well worthy of a further extended
trial, although the cost of the drug must restrict its use to a large extent.
It is to be remembered that this drug has proved to be decidedly superior
to Tartar Emetic in African Trypanosomiasis (Nagana). Another Bayer
preparation, Neostibosan, was tested by small animal inoculation but
this does not appear to be suitable since the curative dose must be very
large and therefore expensive.
In a previous report (1925), the progress of transmission experiments
by housing healthy cattle in contact with naturally affected cases was
reported. During the year under report this experiment was concluded
by the destruction of the three remaining animals for detailed autopsy.
These failed to show any infection, although one of them had been in
contact with a natural ease of the disease for as long as eight years.
IV.—BOVINE ENZOOTIC HÆMATURIA.
Work upon the etiology of this condition is still in progress and data
of considerable value and promise have been obtained. Schistosome
ova resembling those of S. bomfordi, Montgomery, and young tuber¬
culated males have been detected in the urine of all the six clinical cases
of the disease now at Muktesar, and structures, which would appear
to be calcified worm ova and embryos, have been seen in two specimens
16
of kidneys and urinary bladder removed from hæmaturia cases. Further
work to obtain confirmation of the above findings is in progress.
V.—CONGENITAL BLINDNESS IN CALVES.
The occurrence of multiple cases of this condition at the Military
Dairy Farm at Quetta was referred to in the last year's report. During
the year, it has been ascertained that similar cases have been seen in
Shikarpur, Sukkur, and in Delhi. Some interesting information has
been collected and a résumé of this was prepared and forwarded to the
Imperial Bureau of Animal Genetics, Edinburgh, for eliciting informa-
tion on two points, namely, whether there are any previous records of a
similar condition occurring in the other parts of the world, and whether
the Bureau could suggest any suitable lines of investigation. In the
preliminary communication which has been received from the Bureau,
it is suggested that the condition should be attacked in the first place
from the nutritional aspect rather than from the genetical side. As the
problem is now assuming vital importance to the Dairy Farm authorities
more intensive work on it is urgently required, but due to the shortage
of staff, we have been unable to undertake this at present.
VI.—PNEUMONIA.
As mentioned in last year's report, a comparative study of the strains
of Pasteurella organisms, recovered from pneumonic lungs of animals
at Muktesar, was continued by Mr. Mobbs, with particular reference
to cultures from similar material described by Tweed and Edington
(1930). As a result of the examination of the cultural and biochemical
properties of the Muktesar series of cultures, it appears that these may
be classified into two groups, the main one of which agrees in its characters
with Pasteurella boviseptica, Group 1 of Jones, as described in the above-
quoted reference. The examination of the serological reactions and
virulence of the strains is in progress.
It is interesting to report that a strain of B. pseudotuberculosis roden-
tium was isolated from the lungs of a bull during routine post-mortem
examination. The lesions in the lungs resembled those of miliary tuber-
culosis, but a cultural examination was made with the above result.
VII.—BURSATEE.
As a result of conversations with officers of the Royal Army
Veterinary Corps, it was decided to take up research work into
the etiology of Bursatee, which causes considerable trouble amongst
horses in the North of India each hot weather. Specimens of Bursatee
tissue were therefore asked for and half a dozen samples received
Systematic histological examination of a specimen obtained from Feroze-
pore, which presented the microscopic picture of a helminthic granuloma,
revealed sections of a nematode worm, the exact identity of which is still
under study. It is to be noted that this is apparently the first case of