76 



PARASITES OF MAN 



said, further, " that butchers, fleshers, and veterinarians were 

 practically right in refusing to adopt the opinion of Dr Cobbold, 

 that measled beef or mutton is produced to any great extent " 

 independently. How palpably I endured a species of unjust 

 reproach for being somewhat in advance of the knowledge 

 current at the time may be gathered from the voluminous 

 evidence which has since cropped up from various parts of the 

 world. It was, indeed, mainly through experiments conducted 

 at the Royal Veterinary College, and reported in the ' Lancet/ 

 that professional men in India first became acquainted with the 

 possibility of finding Cysticerci in beef. 



The statements of Dr Joseph Fleming, who was one of the 

 foremost in discovering cystic disease in cattle, have since 

 received abundant confirmation. The Indian Government 

 Reports given in the February issue of the ' Madras Monthly 

 Journal of Medical Science ' for 1873 are especially instructive. 

 Referring to the prevalence of Cysticercus in the ration beef at 

 Jullundur, in the Punjab, the Inspector General (India Medical 

 Department) reports as follows : 



" Cysticercus was first noticed here in the beef tendered at 

 the Royal Artillery ration stand in May, 1868. For some two 

 years previous to this date condemnations of cyst-infected meat 

 had been frequent at Peshawur, Rawul Pindee, Meean Meer 

 and several other stations in the upper part of the Punjab, and 

 here I had often detected the parasite in meat exposed for sale 

 in the bazaars, but no trace of it had been observed in the 

 Commissariat beef, either by myself or any other medical officer 

 who had preceded me. 



" From May, 1868, to November, 1869, ' cyst ' was more or 

 less frequently found both at the Artillery and 92nd High- 

 landers' ration stands ; but since the latter date it has almost 

 entirely disappeared. 



" The following table shows the quantity of meat destroyed 

 on this account during 1868 and 1869 : 



