7
"repeated attacks in the same animal are frequent. Veterinary Assistants"
"are able to render very great assistance by treating affected animals. Rules"
"for prevention of intercommunication between infected and healthy villages"
"are required to be enforced."
Rinderpest.
"Rinderpest is, as a rule, the scourge of the province in so far as it
"is the cause of great mortality amongst cattle, buffaloes
"and occasionally sheep and goats. The past year has
"been quite exceptional. Only 528 cases were reported during the year
" under report against 13,511 last year, and the mortality was 43.3 per cent.
"against 60.1 per cent. last year. I have visited outbreaks in Jhelum and
"Ráwalpindi Districts, the only places where they have been at all severe so
"far as I have received information since I joined this appointment. I was
''able in both these districts to personally initiate preventive inoculation.
"Some slight opposition was experienced at first, but the people soon
"recognised the merits of the method and finally asked for it in both places.
"A statement is attached showing the results, and I venture to think they
"are most satisfactory. One thousand two hundred and seventy-nine animals
"were inoculated, of which only 2 died after inoculation and the disease was
"stayed. The two animals that died in Jhelum District died of rinderpest
"within 6 days of inoculation As the method used was that called the"
"serum alone" method by which it is impossible to communicate the disease
"these animals must have been suffering when inoculated though it was not
Method used ''serum
alone."
" apparent. In this method all contact cattle are inoculated if not suffering at"
"the time from the disease. Cattle that have recovered"
"from the disease are not inoculated. The animals are not''
"incommoded, and there is no danger if done by experienced hands. No"
"segregative measures re required, as inoculated animals can be mixed with"
"diseased ones with impunity. The immunity conferred is of fleeting"
"duration, but in my opinion if simultaneous measures are taken to destroy "
"the virus of the disease in the cowsheds, &c., it is sufficient to tide over"
"an outbreak. These concomitant measures are necessary to prevent danger"
"of re-infection when the immunity has passed off. The method is specially"
"applicable to India as the sun is a great factor in destroying the virus."
The
"simultaneous
method.''
"I am of opinion that the time is not yet ripe for the general appli-"
"cation of the "simultaneous method" in India, and"
"that is why I have not used it. It requires constant"
"and close personal supervision and that with my present staff I am not"
"able to give. It is perhaps not necessary for me to go into details, but this"
"method entails the use of the blood of a diseased animal which has gener-"
"ally to be obtained on the spot. To be effectual the animal has to"
"go through an attack of fever which throws him temporarily out of work"
"and it is not without its dangers. The slightest error will cause mor-"
"tality. From a scientific point of view the method is ideal as when suc-"
"cessfully carried out it should protect for life. It is essentially a preventive"
"inoculation, and if it could be practised on all the cattle of the province"
"rinderpest might be stamped out, This method is from the zamíndár's point"
"of view very much more objectionable than the other, and I doubt if he will"
"accept it at present. In actual outbreaks he may accept inoculation and"
"then the "serum alone method" suffices. A cordon of animals round an"
"infected area inoculated by the "simultaneous method" would be an excellent"
"thing, but here again the personal supervision of an officer is required and"
"even then losses may occur."
Preventive measures.
"Preventive inoculation has now received a start in the Punjab; Ve-"
"terinary Assistants are being trained at Muktesar, and"
"when they are equipped, I believe, we can deal satisfac-"
"torily with this disease. Help is required from District Officers to start the"
"work as in some cases villagers are against it. Good results will soon"
"overcome their prejudices. I propose, as soon as possible, writing a pamph-"
"let on the subject for village schools and for distribu-"
"tion generally to the agricultural population,"
Preparation of a pamph-
let for village schools.
"Veterinary Assistants Kotu Rám, Ahmad Bakhsh and Tálib Khan"
"have done good work in preventive inoculation."