496 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



purpose a large bath of disinfectant should be available. 

 The veterinary attendant must be no less particular, a 

 change of boots and clothes is essential, besides thorough 

 disinfection of the hands, otherwise he will carry the 

 disease from farm to farm. 



Methods of Inoculation. — The protective inoculation em- 

 ployed against rinderpest consists of bile or serum inocu- 

 lations, and these must be separately considered. 



Bile inoculation. The gall-bladder of an ox dead of the 

 disease is frequently distended with bile, varying in tint 

 from a deep green to red, and sometimes being thick and 

 curdy-looking. In selecting bile for inoculation, that which 

 is green in colour is preferred, and if on shaking a froth is 

 produced, it is an additional indication of its suitability. 

 The only biles which should positively be rejected are the 

 red ones, as the colour of these is due to blood, 



The bile inoculation will not save animals which are 

 already affected from getting the disease, but it will protect 

 all those with a normal temperature. Where bile is scarce, 

 and it frequently is, this point of not wasting it on animals 

 already possessing a temperature should be borne in mind. 



The bile contains the immunising substance, but in 

 varying amounts ; further, it also contains the virus of the 

 disease. To overcome the varying amount of the immu- 

 nising substance, all the biles are mixed together, so that 

 the deficiency in one is made up by an excess in another ; 

 the difficulty arising from the presence of the virus in the 

 bile is got rid of by keeping it for at least two days before 

 use, if possible mixed with glycerine as a preservative, in 

 the proportion of one part of glycerine to two of bile. The 

 dose of this mixture is 30 c.c. ; it is found from experience 

 that at least 10 c.c. of bile are required to give immunity. 



Where it is desired to get a very rapid immunity the 

 mixture of glycerine and bile may be injected into the 

 jugular vein. Immunity begins to appear about six days 

 after inoculation, and is complete about the tenth day. 



There are drawbacks to the bile methods, one being the 

 difficulty of getting it in sufficient quantity, and the other 



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