378 SURRA 
invasion of the parasite. In one horse which had been ill seven days, the red blood 
cells numbered 3,500,900, the white 14,500. In another, ill six weeks, the red blood 
cells were 3,200,000, and the white were 13,900. The blood of a healthy horse, taken as 
a comparison, gave red blood cells 6,900,000, white 9,800. There is also a slight dimi- 
nution in the amount of hemoglobin, about 85 per cent.” 
Diagnosis. Surra is to be diagnosed by the symptoms, lesions and 
finding the specific organism. In case of infected cattle, it is usually 
necessary to resort to animal inoculations with the blood of the sus- 
pected animal and finding the trypanosomes in the blood of the 
inoculated animal. For this purpose the rabbit or dog is very satis- 
factory. In from five to ten days after inoculation with from one 
to two cubic centimeters of its blood the temperature of the animal 
goes up and its blood reveals the parasite on microscopic examination. 
The surra organisms agglutinate. Complement fixation test is used 
for diagnosis. 
Surra is to be differentiated from anthrax as well as other trypano- 
soma diseases. A history of the case or outbreak together with the 
chronic course and intermittent temperature in surra will usually 
suffice to determine the nature of the disease. A positive diagnosis 
can easily be made in the horse, in a majority of cases, by a micro- 
scopic examination of the blood. The trypanosomes are readily 
observed, and usually they are in sufficient numbers to be quickly 
seen. In a suspicious case, where the organisms are not found, the 
examination should be repeated daily or small animals inoculated 
with the blood. Although this requires some time the importance of 
a positive diagnosis demands that it should be done. 
Prevention. The importation of animals from infected countries 
should be prohibited. If the disease gains entrance, the infected 
animals should be destroyed. In framing regulations for quarantine 
particular attention should be paid to the danger of infected wild 
animals and of circus animals bringing the virus to this country where 
it may be transmitted to native stock by means of flies. 
Lingard found that arsenic has a decided effect in diminishing the 
number of surra organisms in the blood of affected animals. Thus 
far serum therapy is not successful. 
REFERENCES 
1. Burxe. Surra or progressive pernicious anemia. Vet. Jour., Vol. XXV (1887). 
2. Duruam. Tsetse disease. Veterinarian, Vol. LXXI (1898), p. 535. 
3. Durrant. A trypanosoma found in blood of cattle in India. Jour. Comp. 
Path. and Therap., Vol. XVII (1904), p. 209. 
