PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
61
Reference :-
C.O. 885
20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
36
condition, as regards health, of the cattle before leaving the islands, and any circum- stances which may have some bearing upon the disease which affects them on cross- ing.
Cattle always seem to have done particularly well on the islands, and owners when stationed at of cattle there, when questioned as to any losses in their herds, say that the only deaths that occur are the result of the attacks of crocodiles. Sesse I heard of no sickness, and one was usually struck at the fine condition in which the cattle always were, and at their freedom from ticks.
Blood slides of fiity (50) young Sesse cattle were taken by me and sent to the Director of the Royal Society s Sleeping Sickness Commission. Only two showed organisms, namely, small piroplasms, probably P. mutans.
I had been several months Flies. Tabanida are comparatively uncommon. on the islands before a single specimen was caught by fly-boys. Some species of Tabanus and Hæmatopota were afterwards found. Stomoxys occur in greater numbers than in any other part of the country in which I have been. islands Glossina palpalis abounds on parts of the lake shore.
Un most
Ticks. I collected specimens and forwarded them to Mpumu, where they were identified as being Margaropus dicolorutus and Amblyomma cariegalum. No brown ticks were found.
Cattle said to die on crossing to the mainland.-In the past, herds of Sesse When the cattle have frequently been taken to Buddu. About a month after landing they are said to get sick, and only a small percentage is said to recover. natives were ordered to leave the islands, large herds crossed from Bugoma to Bukakata, and the same story of their getting sick and dying in large numbers was told. This was said to have occurred also at Bweya and Kibanga, the landing place to which cattle from the island of Kome were taken.
Cattle sent to Mpumu.-Kwoba, the Sesse Saza Chief, arranged for some of these Kome cattle to be taken to Mpumu so that the disease could be investigated there. On their arrival at the landing at Kibanga a collection of the ticks found upon them was made, and the specimens caught were of the same varieties as those sent from Sesse. The cattle were then brought as quickly as possible to Mpumu. Fifteen, which arrived by the end of August, were placed in a tick-free enclosure. On September 4th nine others were received, and were allowed to graze along with other cattle on Mpumu Hill.
Tick-free cattle healthy.-The after history of the tick-free cattle shows that with the exception of one aged cow, which died, and in which the cause of death was unknown, all have remained in excellent condition.
Blood examination.-Blood examination was first made daily. Afterwards twice weekly. P. bigeminum, P. mutans, and maginal points were frequently fourd, and in several cases were seen so soon after arrival that infection must have occurred on the islands. One animal, a few days after arrival at Mpumu, showed trypanosomes in its blood. It is still apparently well.
Cattle not tick-free, six dead.-There were nine cattle that were not kraaled in a tick-free shed. Five from among six, which have already died, were shown to be suffering from the same discase, and it is not unlikely that in the sixth this disease As the diagnoses in this case, however, could not may have been the cause of death. be confirmed, and as there was a probability of the animal having died from infec- tion of the liver with flukes from which it was found to be suffering, it is omitted from the post-mortem records given below.
Three alive. Three of the nine cattle are still alive. All seem to have suffered from the same disease as that which was found to be the cause of death in those mentioned above. In only one case could the diagnosis be confirmed. This animal is now unable to rise, and death, either from the disease itself or some sequelæ, is likely to occur soon.
Blood examination.-Blood examination of these cattle showed that two were One bull showed two different varieties-one suffering from trypanosomiasis.
variety appearing nine days, the other seventeen days, after arrival. Trypanosomes were found in the other animal 27 days after arrival. As I had no means of identi- fying these trypanosomes, this part of the work was handed over to the Sleeping Sickness Commission. In all these animals the piroplasms mentioned above were
found.
Blue bodies.-Koch's granules, or blue bodies, were found in the blood of two of these cattle, one of them the animal referred to above as being still alive.
ایی
They were also present in spleen smears of all five cases which died. In four cases they were found in the liver, and in two cases in the kidneys, lungs, and lymphatic glands.
Spirochete.-In two of the animals in which the blue bodies were present spirocaætæ were found; in one in the spleen smears, in the other in blood taken from the ear before death, and also in heart blood after death. Morphologically these spirochætæ were similar to S. Duttoni.
The following is an account of the disease from which these nine cattle suffered. Symptoms of disease.-Early in the illness the coat becomes rough, the priscapu- lar glands are seen to be enlarged, and there is a watery discharge from the eyes. The temperature rises to between 106° and 109°, and the chart usually shows the evening temperature to be from 20 to 30 higher than the morning. The animal eats fairly well, but as the disease progresses it spends more and more of its time stand- ing about with drooping head and ears or lying down.
Later in the disease the animal falls off in condition, its gait becomes staggering, and saliva trickles from its mouth. The dung is occasionally blood-stained, and there may be diarrhoea.
If the disease is to terminate fatally, in a few days it becomes unable to rise, and towards the end it usually lies with its head thrown back, and with a watery fluid running from its nostrils. Breathing seems to be difficult, and, from the move- ments of the legs, the animal appears to be suffering from considerable pain. Before death the temperature which has remained high throughout falls to sub- normal, and froth is sometimes found on the ground around the animal's nostrils.
One case dropped down dead suddenly.
In the five fatal cases, death occurred on an average of 35 days-shortest This period period being 31-the longest 44, days after arrival on the mainland.
of course, includes the time before infection occurred, incubation period, and dura- tion of illness.
Post-mortem examination of five cases. In all the lymphatic glands were en- larged, oedematous, and hæmorrhagic.
Occasionally a quantity of straw-coloured fluid was present in the peritoneum. The omentum usually showed that its fat had undergone gelatinous degeneration, and cccasionally numerous small petechiæ were found under its serous covering. Respiratory system.-Pleural cavities generally contained some fluid. Trachea. In three cases contained froth and straw-coloured fluid. Lungs. In all cases were more or less oedematous, and in addition congestion and hæmorrhagic infarets were sometimes met with.
Circulatory system.-Pericaridum usually contained fluid. The fat at the base of the heart and along the auriculo-ventricular grooves was always found to be in a state of gelatinous degeneration.
The epicardium always, and the endocardium frequently, showed petechiæ. The muscle substance of the heart was usually pale and flabby.
Spleen. Except in one case where there were petechiae under the capsule, the organ was normal."
Liver-Was generally enlarged. In two cases it was found to be infected with liver flukes.
Infarets were present in one case. Kidneys.-Were congested in three cases.
Fourth stomach.-Three cases showed numerous small ulcers, and marked congestion.
Diagnosis.--Blue bodies are now accepted by veterinary authorities as being diagnostic of east coast fever. This being so, their demonstration in these cattle which died after crossing to the mainland must be taken to show that the disease from which they died was east coast fever.
The fact that the brown tick, the carrier of cast coast fever, has not been found on the islands, the symptoms, and post-mortem appearances are all in favour of this; whilst the fact that cattle kept in a tick-free kraal remained healthy. indicates that the disease is a tick-transmitted one.
Although several of the cases showed a fairly-marked infection of small piro- plasms, the gross infection of the red blood corpuscles with P. parvum—a feature distinguishing this piroplasm from P. mutans, which occurs towards the end of the I do not know illness in east coast fever, has not been present in any of the cases.
in what percentage of cases one ought to expect this condition to occur, but its absence, from a diagnostic point of view, is probably of little importance.