SECRETARY'S REPORT 145 



dazole has been used in eqiiines, rhinoceroses, tapirs, and several mon- 

 keys; and a research product, called Alcopar, which contains the 

 bephenium ion, shows a great deal of promise in selected species of 

 animals. To generalize, thiabendazole has been the first product we 

 have used in the zebras that has been so thorough that routine worm- 

 ing has become unnecessary ; and the use of Alcopar in the large cats 

 has caused a reduction in the egg count of both ascarid and hookworm. 



Bird losses on the shipment arriving from India on December 16 

 were high, owing primarily to travel trauma. Among 69 waterfowl 

 and pheasants quarantined at Clifton, N.J., 8 undiagnosed deaths 

 occurred. Psittacine birds are required to be quarantined for a period 

 of 90 days under the direction of the U.S. Public Health Service, and 

 101 birds were placed in a closed quarantine area. Quarantine pro- 

 cedure consists of 45 days on tetracycline-treated seeds, and a further 

 45-day period of observation. Of the quarantined birds, 48 died and 

 were sent to the Communicable Disease Center. Psittacosis virus was 

 isolated in some of the birds. 



Every effort is being made to improve the effectivness of the veteri- 

 nary division in the care of animal health in the Park. X-ray equip- 

 ment purchased early in the year has been invaluable in the correction 

 of several fractures. Equipment and supplies have been obtained to 

 institute a system of bacteriological culturing in both living animals 

 and autopsy specimens in an effort to establish the cause of death more 

 definitely, and diagnose illnesses and infections in the living animals 

 more rapidly. 



The veterinary division has been fortunate in having the cooperation 

 and assistance of various specialists in the fields of clinical investiga- 

 tion and medicine. Among these men were Dr. Henry Feffer, ortho- 

 pedist ; Dr. Hugo Rizzoli, neurosurgeon ; Dr. A. G. Karlsen of the Mayo 

 Clinic in Rochester, Minn.; Dr. F. R. Lucas, director of the Livestock 

 Sanitary Laboratory in Centerville, Md.; Dr. Anthony Morris of the 

 National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.; and Dr. Leonard 

 Marcus and staff, of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Dr. 

 Clarence Hartman, Dr. William McCarten, and Miss Bessie Sonnen- 

 berg, parasitologists on the staff of George Washington Medical 

 School, connected with the Tropical Disease Program, have given 

 assistance in the diagnosis of and identification of the parasites that 

 we have encountered in the Zoo, and their advice on treatment has been 

 most helpful. 



A Brahminy kite {Hnliastur indns) collected for the National 

 Zoological Park by the National Geographic Society-Smithsonian 

 Institution Expedition to the East Indies, received September 28, 1937, 

 died on April 18, 1964. This bird had been in the collection 26 years 

 5 months 21 days. 



