VETERINARY MEDICINE. 485 



diseases among animals, tlie results of preventive inoculation, the number of 

 animals treated at veterinary hospital and dispensaries, and other data. 



Annual report on the Punjab Veterinary College and of the civil veteri- 

 nary department, Punjab, for the year 1908-9, W. Renouf {Ann. Rpt. Punjab 

 Vet. Col. and Cir. \<t. Dipt., IHOS-!), pp. /Z+ZJ+X///).— This report consists 

 of 7 parts of which the first 3 are devotetl to veterinary instruction, treatment 

 of disease, and breeding operations. 



During the year under report 145,808 cases of epidemic disease were reported 

 of which 56,111 proved fatal. Of deaths from equine contagious diseases 224 

 were reported against 107 in the previous year, 163 being from surra as com- 

 l)ared with 90 in the previous year. A serious outbreak of glanders in one 

 locality was effectually stami)ed out. Of the 17,247 cases of rinderpest 8,739 

 died, as against 3,531 cases and 1,714 deaths in the preceding year. Contact 

 animals were inoculated against this diesase in 270 outbreaks, 60,258 animals 

 lieing treated. Hemorrhagic septicemia was reported from every district in 

 :he province except two, the total number of deaths reported being 20,822 out 

 of 26,082 animals attacked. Foot-and-mouth disease was reported from every 

 district, 70,606 cases being reported of which 1,241 died. Black quarter was 

 reported from 18 districts, with 965 cases and 721 deaths. There were per- 

 formed 2,(!0() vaccinations in infected premises with the most satisfactory 

 results. Of deaths from anthrax 628 were reported in 15 districts. The large 

 number of deaths of bovines reported under the head of other contagious 

 diseases, of which there were 8,895, was due mainly to the existence of gillTir, 

 or parasitic disease, in the I^ahore and Sialkot districts. There were 14,781 

 deaths from contagious diseases in other animals, mainly among goats and 

 sheep, the greatest mortality being caused by the gillar disease. 



The need of controlling and standardizing the manufacture of veterinary 

 tetanus antitoxin, J. li. Moiiler and A. Eichhorn {U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. 

 Aiiim. Indus. Bui. 12 J, pp. 22). — Because of the divergent results which have 

 been obtained from the use of veterinary tetanus antitoxin, it has not gained 

 th£ favor of the veterinarian and is not used to the extent merited. It having 

 been suggested that the lack of uniform results is primarily due to the varia- 

 tion in the strength of the product, the standardization of veterinary tetanus 

 antitoxins prepared by different manufacturers and a determination of the 

 variation in the strength of these products was undertaken. Following an 

 account of the nature and cause of tetanus and a historical summary including 

 the mode of action, toxicity, and stability of tetanus antitoxin, its standardiza- 

 tion is taken up, the European and American methods explained, and the 

 results of examinations of 13 samples of commercial veterinary antitoxin pre- 

 pared by 4 different companies reported. 



From the results of these tests the following conclusions are drawn : 



" The veterinary tetanus antitoxins prepared by the different manufacturers 

 have not a uniform potency, and the variation amounts in some instances to 

 about two-thirds less than the strength which it should possess. In order to 

 insure a uniform stren,gth, the manufacturers of veterinary tetanus antitoxins 

 should l>e required to use the American standard, and to state on the label the 

 number of American units the dose contains, as is required for human tetanus 

 antitoxin. The immunizing dose for a horse should contain at least 1,500 im- 

 munity units of the standard established by the United States Public Health 

 and Marine-Hospital Service. It is seen that the veterinary tetanus antitoxins 

 vary extravagantly in the unit strength, and some are comparatively weak in 

 antitoxic potency, which shows the necessity for the same supervision by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture over biological products used in 

 veterinary medicine as is now exercised by the United States Public Health and 



