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Table showing the additions and casualties and present state of the stock for
the year 1899.
Particulars.
Stock on 31st December 1898 ...
Purchased during the year ...
Reared on the farm ...
Total ...
Sold during the year ...
Died during the year
...
Present state ...
Bulls.
2
...
...
2
...
1
1
Cows.
67
28
...
95
14
10
71
Heifers
and
calves.
95
28
36
159
47
28
84
Buffalo
bull.
1
...
...
1
...
...
1
Buffa-
loes.
25
24
...
49
...
3
46
Buffalo
calves.
17
23
26
66
10
25
31
Total.
207
103
62
372
71
67
234
BARELLY :
The 23rd January 1900.
J. SYKES, LT.-COL., I. M. S.
Superintendent.
Note on a series of inoculations against rinderpest carried on at Bareilly among
the dairy cattle at the Lunatic Asylum and the dry cattle at the Jail.
Introductory.—The disease appeared at the beginning of December and up to
December 23rd, when I visited the asylum and jail in company with Colonel Sykes,
the mortality had been 30 out of 40 attacks: 9 animals had recovered (4 of these were
doubtfully attacked and had been isolated as suspicious) and one animal was recovering
(it has since died). From the condition of the animal recovering and the description
and the history of the disease as told me by Colonel Sykes I was able to state with
tolerable certainty that the disease was rinderpest. The measures which had been
taken had evidently been of great service in combating the disease and it was
apparently dying out. Bearing in mind, however, the danger of a recrudesence it was
resolved to practice inoculation on the remaining animals.
Inoculation methods.—It will be here necessary to shortly explain the methods
of inoculation.
Experience has shown that in order to ensure lasting immunity it is necessary to
pass the animal through a modified course of the disease. This produces what is called
active immunity and is not without its disadvantages. It is obtained by what is called
the simultaneous methods, i. e. on one side of the animal virulent blood is injected
and on the other side a sufficient dose of serum to prevent the animal getting the
disease in a dangerous form. It is incumbent, however, that the animal should evince
fever or some other symptom of the disease after inoculation. If this does not occur
owing to the serum being too strong it is necessary to reinoculate virulent blood into
the animal to ensure immunity. This method is not permissible in cows from which
the milk is required, as during the fever resulting (termed the reaction) the milk supply
would cease or become considerably lessened, causing great inconvenience. The milch
cattle at the asylum could not therefore be treated in this way. They were inoculated
with serum only sufficient to prevent any more mortality among them.
By this method only a short immunity can be guaranteed, but it was hoped that
the duration would be long enough to outlast the infection still present in the
asylum, so that when the milch cows had ceased to be immune there would be no
more risk of contagion and the milk supply of the dairy need not be interfered with.
The dry cows and buffaloes at the jail, however, were subjected to the simul-
taneous method and therefore can probably be said to be immune from rinderpest for
the rest of their natural lives.
A rather large dose of serum was used for the simultaneous method, as the neces-
sary dose was not absolutely determined.
Colonel Sykes kindly gave me permission to reinoculate all those that did not
react, and as reinoculations had not up to the present been done in the field, I was
very pleased to be able to do as many reinoculations as possible from an experi-
mental point of view, as the Officiating Imperial Bacteriologist had particularly
urged this point.
Results.
Asylum.
Thirty-one milch cows and 28 milch buffaloes were inoculated with serum
only on the 23rd and 24th of December. The results were good, as up to date no