1909.] 



Amakebe : A Disease of Calves in Uganda. 



271 



stage of the intra-corpuscular parasite, which from being round becomes 

 wedge-shaped, oval or circular and rod-shaped. It may be that both these 

 views are true — that some of the so-called marginal points are remains of 

 chromatin from some previous nuclear structure, and that others are the 

 earliest stages of an intra-corpuscular parasite. More work is required before 

 any definite conclusion can be arrived at. 



Koch's Gh^anules or Blue Bodies.— Awo%\\qx body which may sometimes, 

 though rarely, be seen in the blood of Amakebe calves, is one similar to 

 that first described by Koch, and known as Koch's Granules or Blue 

 Bodies. They are found principally in the spleen, lymphatic glands and 

 liver, where they may be quite numerous. Stained by Giemsa the body 

 appears as a blue-coloured cell, filled with coarse chromatin granules (Plate 10, 

 fig. 5). 



The following table gives cases of Amakebe in which these bodies were 

 found : — 



Experi- 

 ment. 



Date. 



Spleen. 



Liver. 



Lymphatic 

 glands. 



Kidney. 



Lung. 



Blood. 





1909. 















[ 415 



Mav 10 



+ 













1392 



Julv 24 



+ 













1593 



Nov. 10 



+ 













1633 



Oct. 5 



+ + + 



+ + + 



+ + + 









1634 



18 



+ + 



+ + 



+ 



+ 



+ 





1635 



15 













+ 



1636 



12 



+ 



+ 



+ 



+ 



+ 





1637 



6 



+ 



+ 



+ 



+ 







1638 



6 



+ + 



+ 



+ + 



+ 



+ 



+ 



1 1833 





+ 



+ 





+ 







1888 



Not. 5 



+ + 













1891 



8 



+ 













1908 



1 



14 



+ + 













Table III, showing the presence of blue bodies in eases of Amakebe. + present, + + numerous, 



+ + + veiry numerous, — absent. 



Diagnosis of Amakehe. 



What, then, is Amakebe ? In the opinion of the Commission it is the 

 disease of cattle discovered by Koch, and named by him East Coast Fever. 

 The chief grounds for this opinion are, the symptoms during life, the appear- 

 ances after death, the occurrence of a small piroplasm in the blood indis- 

 tinguisliable from Piroplasma parvum, and lastly and chiefly, the presence of 

 the blue bodies in the spleen and other organs. These bodies have never 

 heen known to occur in any other disease, and the diagnosis of East Coast 

 Fever is made in South Africa if such bodies are found in spleen smears. 



