17
in this country. It is hoped that sanction may soon be obtained for the
erection of the necessary buildings at Sohawa, so that work may make more
rapid progress.
The dog.
138. Rabies.— Still continues to be exceedingly prevalent and some sugges-
tions have been made to attempt to limit its spread. This may be possible in
certain favoured places, but as a rule the local conditions are such that it is
impossible to do much. Cantonments and Municipalities may doubtless do a
little by imposing a dog tax and making it compulsory to register dogs, and
making them wear a collar and tag. The destruction of as many ownerless dogs
as possible, is very desirable from many points of view as they not only carry
rabies but also some parasitic diseases, and arrangements are generally made
by Municipalities to see that this is carried out.
139. Dysentery.—A very fatal form of contagious Gastro-enteritis exists
amongst dogs in India. It is extremely fatal to dogs in Lahore where it is
reported to have wiped out, at least, one-third of the imported dogs during last
winter. The pariah seems to be immune, or carries the disease in a chronic
form. The purer bred the dog the more liable he is to the disease, and the
sooner he succumbs when attacked. The chief symptoms are those denoting
Gastritis and Dysentery. A note on the subject has been prepared by Mr.
Gaiger and is being published in the Journal of Tropical Veterinary Science.
It appears probable that the disease is carried by Ticks.
140. Piroplasmosis.—The disease due to Piroplasma canis and carried by
the Tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus appears from further enquiries to be a wide-
spread and fatal one to imported dogs, and to cause very serious losses in them.
The Karachi hounds suffered severely during the year. The chief interest
which attaches to this disease is the announcement made by G. F. H. Nuttall
and S. Hadwen of the successful drug treatment of the malady. They have
discovered that Trypanblau and Trypanrot are highly efficient remedies in the
treatment, and that the drugs exert a direct and observable effect upon the
parasites (a) by causing the pyriform parasites to quickly disappear, and (b)
in most cases, by causing the total disappearance of the parasites from micros-
copic observation in the peripheral blood.
141. The disappearance of the parasites from the blood is usually temporary,
as they re-appear in small numbers after an interval of 9 to 12 days but the
dogs, as a rule, show no symptoms, and gradually progress towards recovery.
In 21 dogs of all ages and varieties of breeds, many of them highly susceptible
puppies, 12 were subjected to curative treatment and 8 acted as controls. Out
of 10 dogs treated with Trypanblau 7 made a good recovery, and 3 small wormy
puppies died. Six of the controls out of seven, died of Piroplasmosis 7—12 days
after inoculation. The dose of the drug used varied with the weight of the dog.
One dose sufficed. 41/2 c. c. of a saturated solution of Trypanblau were given to a
dog weighing 18 lbs.; 5.5 to one of 20 lbs.; 10 c.c. to one weighing 57 lbs., and
1.5 c. c. of a 1 per cent solution to a puppy of 11/2 lbs.
142. The only drawback to the treatment appears to be that the drug,
being a dye, causes a distinct blue coloration of the skin and mucous
membranes of the animals which have been subjected to it; and this
coloration persists for some time. This, however, is a small matter against
saving the life of a valuable dog. I have mentioned this treatment in the
hope that it may be given a fair trial in this country, and that it may be the
means of saving the lives of valuable dogs. I have no means of trying it
myself but should be glad to hear the results obtained by those who are in a
position to do so.
143. A full account of the experiments will be published in the Journal of
Tropical Veterinary Science.
144. Surra.—Further proof of the natural infection of dogs with surra, has
been forthcoming during the year; the whole of the Foxhounds belonging to the
Lahore Hunt having been wiped out by the disease. The peculiar feature of
the disease was that it was discovered on the 1st of March, or immediately
after the cold weather when there are no biting flies. It appears most probable