44
REPORT OF THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE OF VETERINARY RESEARCH,
In smears despatched to the laboratory by Major H. Allen, R.A.V. C., Remount
Depôt, Saharanpur, from the liver of dog affected with advanced hepatic cirrhosis, bodies
were seen in considerable numbers believed to be Encephalitozoon sp., and quite indis¬
tinguishable in appearance from Encephalitozoon cuniculi, as recently carefully figured
and described by Theobald SMITH and Laura FLORENCE in the tissues of rabbits (Jl
Exper. Med., 1925, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 25-36).
(l) Foot and mouth disease. With good material obtained from a natural outbreak
of the disease at Muktesar, careful attempts were made to repeat the work of FROSCH and
DAHMEN upon the cultivation of the virus with the use of the solid media recommended
by them, and although some appearances such as they described could be seen in some
primary culture tubes these could not be subcultured and no evidence was obtained that
the appearances actually represented growth.
The method of vaccination, by the use of stored virulent serum, according to the system
advocated by ROUX, VALLÉE, CARRÉ and NOCARD* was applied in the out-kraals to
animals that were subsequenly exposed to natural infection, with a suitable number of
uninoculated, control animals.
The results of the experiment which have been recorded in detail by Mr. Haddow,
who was in charge, prove that the mode of inoculation was not sufficient to prevent any
of the 40 bulls so treated from developing symptoms when exposed a fortnight later to
infection, and that on the whole the severity of the affection in them was only slightly
less marked than in the 20 control bulls exposed to infection simultaneously.
(m) Strangles. A somewhat lengthy summary was given in the preceding Report
of the work done by the Institute in endeavouring to devise means of controlling
strangles at the Army Remount Depôts. The results were given of the rather intensive
systems of vaccination carried out during the strangles seasons of 1922-23 and 1923-24 at
the Sargodha and Mona Depôts, where country-bred colts are admitted by purchase
during the cold weather months of each year. It is of interest now to give very briefly
the results obtained with the same methods at the Stud Farm, Ahmednagar, where foals
are bred from mares entertained at the depôt for army purposes and become exposed to
strangles and affected in varying degrees of severity from year to year. The system
applied at the depôt during the year 1923 was the same as that adopted at Mona and
Sargodha during the season 1922-23, namely, the inoculation at intervals of nine days:
of three doses of increasing size of " strangles streptococci " killed by heat (five labora-
tory strains entered into the composition of the vaccine used at this depôt), the first
dose of vaccine being accompanied by a dose of anti-streptococcic serum. Nine days
after the termination of the treatment the foals were allowed to come in contact with
the natural infection; this eventuality occurred in the case of a few foals before
the treatment was terminated. The results are tabulated below.
Treatment
Vaccinated. 3 doses
Vaccinated, 2 doses
Vaccinated, 1 dose
Not vaccinated," controls " .
Total
number
36
5
1
39
Remained
free
..
..
..
..
Became
affected
36
5
1
39
SEVERITY OF AFFECTION
Mild,
covered
20
3
..
28
Severe,
covered
14
2
1
9
Died
2
..
..
2
The results obtained after the above mode of vaccination at Sargodha and Mona had
indicated that the protection conferred was, at any rate, not a powerful one. The
Ahmednagar findings furnish evidence that the method was wholly inefficacious in the
face of a fairly virulent outbreak. Considering the magnitude of the doses employed
and the system of treatment it must be admitted that if this form of vaccination was
capable of setting up any real protection against natural attack it was given every chance
of demonstrating its efficacy. The natural deduction from such evidence as is furnished
* (Ref. Gén. Méd. Vét. 1922, Jan. 15, Vol. 31, No. 361.)