22
A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON CYMBIFORMIASIS [Vol. XXVI, Part I,
Another outbreak of Cymbiformiasis occurred amongst the Rampur Bushair
and Kashmiri rams at Kalsi, district Dehra Dun, during December, 1954. Forty
stud rams (6 Hissar dale, 23 Rampur Bushair and 11 Kashmiri) were transferred
from Chakrata hills (Dehra Dun) to Kalsi in the last week of November 1954. These
rams developed the disease after a week of their arrival at Kalsi. The first case
was detected on the 1st December, 1954 and 17 rams died within a period of ten days.
The change in the environmental conditions together with the strain of long road
march seems to be responsible for precipitating the impending attack of the disease.
Symptoms
The following clinical symptoms were manifested by the sheep affected with
Cymbiformiasis :
The affected sheep were first noticed dull and lagging behind the flock. Their
general condition was poor and debilitated. In a day or two, diarrhoea started
with passage of soft faeces which was later replaced by watery diarrhoea with foetid
smell, containing flakes of mucous. In the last stages the animal was observed
lying in a prostrate condition with the body temperature usually subnormal.
Generally, there was no rise in the body temperature at any stage of the disease.
Muco-purulent nasal discharge was also observed in a few affected sheep.
The visible mucous membranes were not so pale and anaemic as are seen in
immature Amphistomiasis or in chronic cases of Fascioliasis. No oedematous
swelling was seen in the affected cases at Kalsi. Four cases of Gwaldam Farm
exhibited oedematous swelling in the submandibular region. These cases were
found carrying mixed infestations of Dicrocelium dendriti-cum, Tricho-strongyles and
Cymbiforma indica with the latter predominating and largely responsible for the
symptoms observed. The duration of illness lasted from 4 to 8 days.
Post-mortem lesions
In all, 16 sheep have been post-mortemed so far. Twelve carcasses were autopsied
at Gwaldam, Badiakote and Kalsi. Four sheep in extermis were sacrificed to study
the disease. The post-mortem lesions observed were as follows :
Heart, lungs, spleen, kidney, rumen, reticulum and omasum did not show any
lesion of pathological significance. The thoracic cavity usually contained 8 oz.
to 2 lb. of straw coloured serous fluid. The abdominal cavity invariably contained
1 to 3 lb. of serous fluid. The epicardial sac was found to contain 2 to 4 oz. of straw
coloured fluid in 5 cases. Gall bladder was always found engorged with thick dark
green coloured bile. Liver was slightly enlarged and congested. In six cases liver
contained Dicrocaelium dendriticum in varying numbers from 44 to 226. Abo-
masum contained few Ostertagia circumcineta in 4 cases.
The pathological lesions and the trematodes Cymbiforma indica were detected
only in the small intestine. Duodenum generally showed muco-purulent enteritis
with marked thickening. The duodenum contained few parasites—Cymbiforma
indica. The heaviest infestation of the parasites invariably started from the jejunum
and continued up to 40 ft. of the ileum, though the parasites were present throughout
the small intestine in decreasing numbers. In very heavy infestations the small