PARASITES IN CARCASES OF BUFFALOES. 
69 
If the infestation is localized, the part affected is excised and 
the rest of the carcase is passed, but this does not happen 
frequently. Occasionally in the case of Indian buffaloes slaugh¬ 
tered in Colombo, sarcocysts have been found only in the tongue, 
larynx, and oesophagus. 
VI — Diagnosis of the Disease. 
It is remarkable that so far as is known the presence of Sarco- 
cystis in the muscles of Ceylon buffaloes does not affect the 
general health of the animals in the slightest perceptible degree. 
Nevertheless for practical purposes the infected animals may be 
said to be diseased and the disease is called Sarcosporidiosis . 
The Municipal Veterinary Surgeon reports that the external 
appearance, the temperature, the colour of the meat, and the 
mortality of the buffaloes are normal under all circumstances. 
We have not been able to detect any external symptoms by 
which the presence of the parasite may be inferred during life, 
and it is quite impossible to avoid slaughtering the infected 
animals, except by means of a surgical operation which could not 
be depended upon to yield definite results, and could not be 
adopted as a measure of practical routine. 
VII. —Incidence of Sarcosporidiosis. 
Prom records kept at the Colombo Slaughter House, extending 
over the months of September and October, 1903, it appears that 
858 buffaloes from various districts were slaughtered, 50 of which 
were registered as infected, 48 being condemned, giving a total 
incidence of 5*8 per cent. This is not a high percentage. 
The details of the records are given in the following table :— 
District. 
Slaughtered. 
Condemned. 
Incidence. 
Trincomalee 
31 
2 
6 - 5 per cent. 
Ratnapura 
29 
1 
3 „ 
Puttalam 
31 
2 
6*5 „ 
Matale 
16 
1 
6 
Kalutara 
29 
2 
6*9 „ 
Tamankaduwa 
13 
5 
38 „ 
Kurunegala 
180 
16 
8*8 „ 
Anuradhapura 
183 
18 
9-8 „ 
Indian buffaloes 
346 
1 
0*28 „ 
858 
48 
It will be seen from the above records that the District of 
Tamankaduwa in the North-Central Province has yielded the 
highest percentage of infected cases, and although the actual 
numbers for the two months are small yet the fact is in 
