10 BULLETIN 166, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



REPORT OF THE AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OX 

 THE OPHTHALMIC TEST. 



The special committee on the control of glanders of the American 

 Veterinary Medical Association has issued a most excellent report 

 on the various phases of diagnosis of glanders. The conclusions on 

 the value of the eye test offered by this committee are in perfect 

 accord with our findings, we therefore deem it advisable to include 

 them in this paper, as follows: 



1. The ophthalmic test not only meets all the requirements, but is without doubt 

 the most convenient diagnostic method at our command. 



2. Its reliability compares favorably with any of the other tests available. 



3. The reaction is usually very distinct, and doubtful or atypical reactions are 

 rather infrequent. 



4. The ophthalmic test has the advantage that it does not interfere with subsequent 

 serum or other mallein tests if such are deemed necessary. 



5. The test may be repeated within 24 hours on same or control eye. If another 

 retest is necessary, it should not be made in less than three weeks. 



6. The ophthalmic test should be recognized by State and Federal authorities, 

 since its reliability can no longer be doubted. 



7. In all atypical and doubtful cases of the ophthalmic test, the combined comple- 

 ment-fixation and agglutination or subcutaneous mallein test should be utilized for 

 confirmation. Such a procedure would minimize the failure and would assure the 



results in the control of the disease in a single stable or in an entire community. 



CONCLUSION. 



The results achieved in Austria with the ophthalmic test have 

 been remarkably successful and deserve the most earnest considera- 

 tion. The report of Prof. Schnurer on The Results of the Diagnostic 

 Procedure in Glanders in Austria is a convincing proof as to the 

 value of the eye test in the control of glanders. The senior writer 

 received a communication only a short time ago from Prof. Schnurer, 

 and since it deals principally with the diagnostic value of the eye 

 best, a quotation from the letter will no doubt be permissible: 



I am at the present contemplating collecting the results of the eradication of glanders 

 in Austria during the last three years (1910-1912). During this time 60.894 tests 

 were undertaken on 47.973 horses. Of 272 cases which were found on post-mortem to . 

 be affected with glanders 240 (88.2 per cent) were positive, 21 (7.7 per cent) gave an 

 atypical reaction, while 11 (4 per cent) were negative. Of the 47,701 healthy horses, 

 189 (0.39 per cent) were positive or atypical, the remaining 47.512 (99.61 per cent) 

 gave a negative reaction. 



According to these results, therefore, the eradication of glanders is only a question 

 of organization — that is. the malleinization of horses at the border and conscientious 

 following up of all suspected horses. Such procedure would, without doubt, result 

 in a complete eradication of glanders. At the Veterinary School of Austria we now 

 have difficulty in showing the student cases of glanders, and for demonstration pur- 

 poses we are compelled to infect horses artificially, whereas several years ago we had 

 every week at least one case of glanders in our clinics. 



I use as mallein at the present time a product which I, myself, prepare, which 

 represents a bouillon filtrate from seven different strains of glanders bacilli which ha j 

 been concentrated to one-tenth of the original volume 



