629281-1899-Bile-Inoculation-for-Rinderpest — Page 1

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 20TH MAY,

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.~No. 295.

The following is published.

By Command,

1899.

765

J. G. T. BUCKLE,

for the Colonial Secretary.

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 18th May, 1899.

No. 286.

BILE INOCULATION FOR RINDERPEST.

The GOVERNMENT VETERINARY SURGEON to the Ilon, the COLONIAL SECRETARY.

Colombo, October 10, 1898.

SIR, WITH reference to annexed extract from my diary-re inoculation of bulls-I have the honour to state, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, that Mr. Jeffery reports that all the bulls have done well and have had no disease. No cases of rinderpest have occurred for the last month. The yard is now free from the disease.

I am, &c.,

G. W. STURGESS, Government Veterinary Surgeon.

Annexure.

EXTRACT FROM THE DIARY OF THE GOVERNMENT VETERINARY SURGEON,

VISIT to dairy. All satisfactory.

The four inoculated bulls in Lipton's yard have been tied now for a week by the side of a sick animal-in infected sheds (the sheds where all the cases have been kept)—and will be washed and removed to-day. None of them have been ill, and none have contracted rinderpest; consequently the bile experiments may be said to be very satisfactory, and I shall go on with the inoculation wherever possible. I am quite prepared to inoculate any herd amongst which rinderpest breaks out, as long as good bile can be obtained from those that die or are destroyed for the purpose, and there should be no difficulty about that. In a good many cases the bile is yellow and unfit for use (it must be quite liquid, dark green in colour, and devoid of smell), but in a good percentage of the fatal cases the bile is quite fit for use.

One thing, I am satisfied that if the inoculation is carried out with proper precautions it does no harm, even if it does no good.

Not one of the animals I inoculated has developed an abscess or sore of any kind at the seat of inoculation, and there has been no appreciable illness. Mr. Jeffery, to whom I am greatly indebted for so kindly allowing me to carry out the experiments with his cattle and for the ready assistance he has given to me, expresses his satisfaction with the results, and should the disease break out again in the yard (it has apparently disappeared now) the remainder of the bulls will be inoculated. I shall write a special report of the procedure, &c., adopted in inoculating with the bile in the course of a few days, as the Government of Madras has asked for information of any experiments and results.

REPORT ON BILE INOCULATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF RINDERPEST. DURING the recent outbreak of rinderpest in the town the disease appeared amongst a herd of 150 cart bullocks belonging to Messrs. Lipton, Limited.

Altogether 80 cases occurred: 50 yielded to treatment and recovered, 30 died,

I obtained per- mission to try the bile inoculation method discovered by Dr. Koch in South Africa. He found that the contents of the gall-bladder in cattle dead from rinderpest possesses the property of protecting healthy cattle against the disease. The method of using it is by subcutaneous injection, and protection is given after ten days have elapsed.

The method is of no use for diseased cattle; it is only effective when the cattle have not had the disease.

I opened several bullocks after death, but the bile was unfit for use for inoculation purposes. However, on 23rd August a large Indian ball died, and on post-mortem examination I found the bile in proper condition for use.

The Bile.

In a good percentage of fatal cases of rinderpest the bile will be found good for the purpose of inoculation. It should be dark green in colour, perfectly fluid, free from shreds of the lining membrane of the gall-bladder and from any odour of decomposition.