666 
Supplement to the " Tropical AffricuUunft." [March 1, 1899. 
BILE INOCULATION FOR RINDKRPEST, 
The Government Vetehinaey Sukgeon to the 
Hon. the COLOMAL SECKtTAHY. 
No, 2b(i. Golouiho, Ociolicr 10, 1898. 
Sill, — With reference to uiiuexcJ e.vtruct Irom 
njy diary — rc iii' ciihii ion of bulk — 1 liuve tlie 
liOMOiir to state, for the inforraatiiui of llin Jixcel- 
lency tht) Governor, thut Mr. JeEfery reports that 
all the bulls luive done well und liuve had no 
disea-e. No cases of linderpeot hin e occurred for 
the lubt month. The yuid is now free frooi th« 
disease. 
I ara, &.C., 
0. W. STUliGESS, 
Government Veterinary f^uryeon 
Annexure. 
Extract feom the Diaby of the Govebnmkni 
Veterinary Suhgeon. 
Visit to dairy. All satit-factory. 
The four inoculatLd bulls in Liptou's yard have 
been tied now for u week by the siae of a sick ani- 
mal — in infected .^-hed.s (tlie slieds wliere all the 
cases have been k' pt) — and will be washed and 
removed today. None of them have been ill, and 
none have contracted l inderpest ; consequently the 
bile experimeuts may be said to be very satisfactory, 
and 1 shall go on with the iuoculaiion « lierever 
possible. lam quite prepared to inoculate any lierd 
noiongst which rinderpest breaks out, as lonj^ as 
good bile can be obtained from those that die or 
are deslroytU for the purpose, and there rhould be 
no difficulty about tiiat. In a good many casei 
tlie bile is yellow and unfit for u.se (ic musi be quite 
liquid, dark green in colour, and devoid of ^mell), 
hut in a good percentage of the fatal cases the bile 
is quite fit for use. 
One thing, I am satisfied that if the inoculation 
is carried out with proper precautions it does no 
harm, even if it does no good. 
Not one of the animals I inoculated has deve- 
loped an abscess or sore of any kind at the seat of 
inoculation, Jind there has been no appreciable 
illne.<s. Mr. Jeffery, to whom 1 am greatly indebt- 
ed for so kindly allowing me to carry out the 
e.\peiiments with his cattle and for the ready 
tti^sislance he has given to me,e.\presses his sati^fac- 
tion with th? results, and should the disease break 
out again in the yard (it has apparently disappeared 
now) the remainder of the bulls will be inocula- 
ted. 1 shall write a special report of tlie proce- 
dure, &c., adopted in inoculating with the bile 
in the course of a few days, as the Government of 
Madras has asked for information of any experi- 
ments and results, 
Repobt O.N Bile Inoculation for the Pb,kvbn- 
TIO.N OF RlNDEliPEST. 
During the recent outbreak of rinderpest in the 
town the disease appeared amongst a herd of 150 
cart bullocks belonging to Messrs. Lipton, Limited. 
AUogei her 80ca.--es occurred : oOyiekied to ireal- 
meiit and recovered, 30 died. I obtained permis- 
sion to try the bile iiioculatioii method dk-covend 
by Dr. Koch in South Africa, lie found that the 
contents o'' the gall-bladder in cattle dead from 
rinderpest possess the property of protecting 
healthy cattle against the disease. The method of 
using it is by subcutaneous injection, aud protec- 
tion is given after ten days have elapsed. 
The method is of no u»e for difieased cattle ; it It 
only effective when the cattle have not had th* 
disease. 
I opened i-everal bullocks after d*8th, but th« 
oile was unfit for ute for iiiucuhitiou purpose*. 
However, on 23rd August a large Indian bull died, 
and on postmortem examination 1 found the bit* 
in proper condition for use. 
The Bile. 
In 0 good percentage of fatal cases of rinderpeet 
the bile will be found guod for thf purpose of ino- 
culation. It should be d irk green iu clour, per- 
fectly fluid, free from slired> of the lining raem- 
brance of tlie gall-bladder and from any odour of 
decomposition. 
A good number of instances occur trliere the 
bile i.> unfit for use, being yellow or dark brown 
in C'llour, rojiy in consisiency, and containing 
frhreds of tlie mucous lining of the gall-bladdfcr. 
Such bile is poisonous and use!es.«. The be*t bile 
is that obtained from an animal that lias suffered 
severely from rinderpest (or some days, or, better, 
if it has s-uccumbed to the disease.' It must be 
taken before decomposition of the body commences. 
In instances where it has been good 1 have no- 
ticed it was u^ally very abundant, a half to on* 
pint being eas-ily obtained. 
Method of takiuff the Bile. 
Great care must be taken in removing tlie bile 
in order to avoid contaminaiion by blood, or con- 
tents of the intestines, or by fluid of any kind to 
the abdominal cavity. 
The carcase should be placed on the left side 
and the abdouiiinil cavity opened by cutting along 
the median line from th.- extremity Iif the sternum 
to the pubis and behind the last rib down to th 
backbone. All assistant can then raise the fiap« 
aud the liver and gall-bludder lying underneath' 
the ribs are well exposed. 
The gall-bladder should be slightly raised with 
the hand, aud if dirty washed with a weak solu- 
tion of bichloride of mercury in water (1 in 2,000). 
An assistant holds a glass jar against the gall- 
bladder (taking care not to allow any blood or any 
extraneous matter to enter it), which is then 
punctured with a sharp knife and the bile allowed 
to flow into the jar. A glass cover should be 
placed over the jar as soon as the operation it 
finished. 
My hands, jars, and instruments were well 
washed and rinsed with a bichloride of mercury 
solution (1 iu 2,000; and dried. 
As previously mentioned, I obtained in this 
manner from an Indian bullock half a pint of bile 
fit for use. The animal died from the disease 
after suffering for a week. 
At once four healthy bulls were inoculated. 
Method of Inoculation. 
The animals were cast and the legs ♦ied, and 
10 cubic centimetres (about 8 drams) . f bile gently 
injected under the loose skin in front of the che>t. 
As the needle of the >yriiige is withdrawn, the 
skin should be pinched between the finger and 
thumb at the point of insertion, to prevent any of 
Lhrt bile coming out again uud to close the wound. 
The part should be gently manipulated to injure 
distiibutioii of the bile iu the subcutaneous tissue. 
Particulars of Experiments. 
I, 
August S3. — Four bulls reeeived an injection o( 
