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Abortion in a Donkey Stud
rHE JOURNAL OF
COMPARATIVE PATHOLOGY AND
THERAPEUTICS VOL. XXI I.-No. 4.
DECEMBER 31,1909.
PRICE 2S. 6d.
ABORTION IN A DONKEY STUD.
By E. CLIVE WEBB, Captain A.V.C., Remount DepOt, Mona, Punjab. THE following article deals with an outbreak of abortion in a stud of donkey mares under my charge. The outbreak commenced in May 1907, in which year a large number of casualties occurred. The disease has continued to exist up to date (1st October 1909), although the number of cases which have occurred in 1908 and 1909 up to the present time have been few compared with the number which occurred during the first year of the outbreak. At the same time, the number of cases which still continue to occur at regular intervals is sufficiently serious to determine a grave reduction in the annual percentage of foals born, added to which is the difficulty of getting at the root of the evil and taking the necessary steps to eradicate the disease. The strength of this donkey stud is eighty brood donkey mares and several donkey stallions (" jacks") for the service of these mares. There have been one or two changes amongst these "jacks," unsuitable ones having been replaced. At the present time, however, there are in all four" jacks" in use in the stud. The object of this stud is to breed donkey stallions suitable for use in the various mulebreeding districts. Before proceeding with the details of the outbreak itself, it is necessary to give some idea of the distribution of the mares, their method of existence, and the places from which they were received,a knowledge of which is necessary when discussing the possible '1'
GENIWAL ARTICLI-:S.
causes of the outbreak, and especially in relation to the theory of contagion. At the time of my taking over charge in February 1907 these donkey mares were separated into two lots and kept in two separate paddocks. Besides this donkey stud, there is another stud consisting of twenty pure country-bred mares (horse) under my charge. This latter stud, consisting of the brood mares and their progeny, i.e., colts and fillies up to three years of age, occupies a specially fenced-in and large area of land, within which are a number of paddocks, fenced or walled. It is this fenced land with its contained paddocks, stables, stock, etc., which we speak of in this depot as the stud. The two donkey mare paddocks, to which reference is made above, are in the stud, although separated from each other by a distance of several hundred yards. Prior to the commencement of the outbreak in one of these paddocks, which for the purposes of description I will call M paddock, there were thirty donkey mares whose history was as follows:. Twenty mares arrived from a place called Mirpur in October 1906. These mares were part of a donkey stud maintained at that place (near the hill station of Abbottabad), but it had been decided to transfer this stud from Mirpur to Mona for certain reasons; hence their arrival. The remaining ten mares were purchased at various villages in the breeding districts for the purpose of bringing up the strength of the Mona donkey stud to eighty brood mares, and they arrived in the following months: October 1906, two mares; November 1906, two mares; December 1906, one mare; February 1907, five mares. It had not been the custom to segregate new purchases on their arrival, but when the large batch of twenty arrived from Mirpur it was decided to segregate them for six months. The remaining ten mares of this paddock therefore should not have been placed with these Mirpur mares, but in the other paddock, which I will call D paddock, along with the other mares which arrived in small batches and had been purchased in various places. In D paddock there were altogether fifty-six mares, making the total five over the authorised strength of this stud. These fifty-six arrived in the depot during the following months: March 1904, five; September 1904, four; November 1904, one; January 1905, three; March 1905, two; November 1905, three; January 1906, one; February 1906, three; March 1906, twenty-three; April 1906, three; February 1907, eight. I t will be seen that the latest arrivals in both paddocks were in February 1907. Many of the mares arrived in foal to unknown" jacks," and after foaling were again served. Those not in foal on arrival, if three years old or over, were covered on first coming in season. On the 24th April 1907 the mares from M paddock were taken out and put in D paddock with the remainder. Although the batch of twenty Mirpur mares had been in M paddock for six months, their actual segregation period and that of the remaining ten mares was Qnly two months, i.e., counting from the date of the last arrival. Similarly, the mares in D paddock had gone two clear months from
GENERAL ARTICLES.
the date of the last arrival to the date of mixing. Up to this latter
GENERAL ARTICLES.
Detailed List of .JEares 'wlticlt Aborted in tilt Order of Occurrence. - . -- ----------------"c-------~-----------------
(1)
I
(2) D a lf' ot'
~
Service'to 'wh i ch
she Held.
~.
I I
(3)
(4)
I'
( ; )
i
Daft. of
Date or'
Suvice to
I
AlJO/'twn.
u'/ach Ish, IItI,I.
!
Resvlt.
(7)
I
m(l.
Service to
M
whwh
(t)'.
tur,twn 0/'
I
26/9/06
4/5/07 [ 13/6/07
19 46
23/6/06 2(;/7/06
5/5/07 5/5/07
I 19/2/00
15/7/08
11/5/06
6/.5/07
34 84
6/5/07 7/5/07 : 12/8/07
3.J
10/7/06 Not known 15/5/06
8/5/07
·n 23
25/5/06 1/7/0G
8/5/07 , 30/5/09 8/5/07 17/9/07
9 4 26 13 ,
20/!l/06 ,}}J/7/0H 18/5/06 18/5/06
8/5/07 . 6/7/07 8/5/07 30/1>/08 8/5/07 1017/07 12/5/07 7/7/07
28 57
27/7/06 27/7/00
12/5/07 13/5/07
30 3
2/8/06 25/5/06
56 3 H 24 S 14 48 53
9/10/06 21/6/07 20/11/06 22/6/07
I ._ _. _
_
-
-
26/10/07 13/7/07
Do. Abortion
30/7/06
21/5/07
15/7/07
24/11/08
19/7/06 24/6/06 3/8/06 7/11/06 25/6/06
26/5/07 27/5/07 10/6/07 11/6/07 20/6/07
15/1/08 12/9/07
G/1/09 ! 28/8/08 11/8/08 I' 4/1/09 1/3/09
26/6/07
27/2/08 28/1/08 4/5/08 25/1/08 16/2/OS 20/12/07 4/2/08 12/8/08 10/9/08 9/12/08 6/1/09 20/10/08 11111/08 17/2/09
29/9/08 20/10/08 27/10/08 6/ll/OS 16/11/08 3/12/08
31/12/08
30/4/09 27/5/09 31/5/09 15m/09 25/8/09 13/9/09 29/9/09
26/9/0S
I
I'
I
-
-
Foal died, pneu mouia, 27/8/08.
!
30/11/08 1 4/1/08 i 11/2/08
1/9/OS Do. Normal 23/8/08 parturition I (twin) 15(9/07 Normal 22/9/08 parturition 27/9/07 Do. 10/9/08 4/9/07 Do. 7/9/08 24/10/07 Do. 16/11/08 7/6/08 Do. 9/6/09 28/8/08 Do. 14/8/09 14/10/08 17/3/09
12/10/08 14/1/09 2/6/09 17/5/09 I 15/12/OS [ 23/12/08 17/2/09 I' 25/6/09 ' -
Foal died at birth. Second foal died. influenza, 9/4/09 ; first foal carried full time, hut still-born
4/9/09
Normal parturi tion Do. Do. 318i07 Do. 29/12/07 Do. 4/2/08 Do.
Altbough carried t() full time, pl'Obably due to same caus& as abortions. First foal carried full time, but still-born
First foal carried ful time, but still-born Do.
19/5/07 20/5/07
27/6/07 19/7/07 29/7/07 14/3/08 11/6/08 18/7/08 23/9/08
8/4/09
13/8/08
15/8/08
17/8/07 25/8/07
1_ _ _ _
-
23/4/09 11/11/08 Abortion
27/8/08
(10)
])"t, oj I R esult. I
27/Il/OS 4/12/0S
Do. Do.
6/7/0G
Iii
918/07
Normal parturition Abortion Normal parturition Do.
8/R/08 17/6/07
30/12/00 8/3/07 16/11/06 20/9/07 1/10/07 14/11/07 24/9/07
H!l 83
I
I
I
2/7/08 5/7/09 26/7/08 14/9/08
7
38 22 8:> 68 49 liO 74 88 11 ,')8 78
1!!./7/09 '
Normal parturition Do. Do. Do. Do.
71 61 1 79 30 4,;
i
5/3/0(1 ,
(9)
1
i 23/6/07 I 21l/6/08
G7
76
25/Il/08 [
Normal parturition Do, Foal born dead
Runte.
sh. lIeld.
I Abortion. i----I----~ - - - -1-- - - - 1 ---20
(8)
JJate of
ReslJJt,
I
I
«(;) D(tte 0/
Ii.e· :01 i I
Abortion
9/1/0f!
First foal carried ful time, but still·born.
i
First foal carried ful time, but still-born. Both died two days. after birth.
Foal carried ful time, but still-born
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293
Weekly SUlJlmary showing tile Progress 0./ the Disease ./1'0111 the Commencement to the End 0./ I907. Total of mares which aborted during week ending 9th May 1907 " " " 16th Ma y 1907 23 rd May 1907 " " " " " " 30th May 1907 " " " 7th June 1907 " " " 13th June 1907 " " " 20th June 1907 " " " 27th June 1907 " " " 4th July 1907 " " " 12th July 1907 " ., " 19th July 1907 " " " 27th July 1907 " " " 3rd Augus t 1907 " " " I I th August 1907 " " " 18th August 1907
12
3 3 2 Nil 2 4 N il Nil I
Nil I
Nil Nil
Total
29
Total number of mares which aborted in 1907 "
"
"
"
29
1908
"
"
...
13
Grand total
5I
1909, up to 30th September
9
Return showing Foalings during past Three Years, excluding Cases oj Abortion. I
!
F oalhlgs. : Number of Mares Covered. Colts. Fillies.
I
Year.
I
-- --
32
1906-07 (from 1st April to 31st March
12
-
- ------12
Percentage.
I I
I I
---- - -
75 22·4
1907- 0 8
"
"
67
5
10
I
1908-09
"
"
78
20
25
37
47
57 .69 I-----
I
177
I
I
47"4 6
()f grazing, I could discover nothing of a poisonous nature in the way of weeds or shrubs likely to give rise to such an outbreak. The progress of the outbreak during the second week, i.e., the 1I1umber of cases of abortion falling from twelve to three, led me to believe that my surmise as to the cause of abortion had been correct. Unfortunately, however, during the third and following weeks there was no falling off in the number of cases, and the outbreak had assumed a very serious aspect. My suspicions also as to the contagious nature of the disease were daily streng thened. I t will be seen that there was no regularity in the length of time the f~tuses were carried, this varying from four months up to the full period of gestation, which latter in donkeys is roughly twelve months; and in my experience the majority are inclined to carry the f~tus over rather than under this period.
294
GENERAL ARTICLES.
It will not be out of place here to discuss some of the common causes of abortion with reference to their bearing on this outbreak. 1. Poisons taken in witlt Food or TVater.-Mention has already been made above of the possibility of poisonous weeds or shrubs picked up whilst out grazing being accountable for the outbreak. The question at the commencement, before precautions had been taken to obviate such a possibility, was a difficult one to decide. Certain plants might be poisonous at one season of the year and not at another. In others, the fruit and seeds only might be poisonous; and in others, again, only the young succulent growing plants. Such points could only be determined definitely by a series of feeding experiments. In the light of further experience, however, such poisons may be disregarded as a possible cause in this outbreak, since the stopping of grazing for some considerable time failed to have any beneficial effect in lessening the number of cases. Water polluted with sewage is said to be a common cause of abortion. Such a cause could have had no influence in this outbreak; for although at first, when the mares used to go out grazing daily> they were in the habit of drinking canal water out of irrigation channels, which might possibly, although very improbably, have been polluted; and later, when the stud was split up into small batches as a precautionary measure, and the mares were watered from wells, it had no beneficial effect. The grain the mares were receiving before the commencement of the outbreak consisted of 2 Ibs. gram (channa) per head. This latter is a kind of pea, and is the commonest variety of grain fed to horses, mules, etc., in this ccruntry, and might be said to take the place of oats. It may be given in practically any quantity up to 8 or 10 Ibs. daily, either alone or combined with other varieties of grain, such as barley, bran, etc. This gram fed to the mares was frequently inspected by me, and was always of good quality. The commonest defect in gram is weevil; but, excepting for loss of nutriment, I have never seen such weevil-eaten grain do any serious harm. However, to obviate any possible risk in its use I changed the grain ration from gram to oats and bran, but, as anticipated, without benefit. 2. SY11lpathy.-A great deal of stress has been laid on this as a cause of abortion, especially in the case of donkeys. When discussing this subject with a native who had had some considerable experience in donkey - breeding, he informed me that if donkey mares were allowed to foal down in a paddock with other in-foal mares the latter were very prone to abort. I am convinced, however, that sympathy played no prominent part in the outbreak under discussion for the following reasons. In the first place, up to the time of the outbreak the mares had been allowed to. foal down in a railed enclosure in a corner of their respective paddocks in full view of the remaining mares of the paddock, many of which latter were heavy in foal, and for several months during which this procedure was in vogue no mishap occurred. Moreover, many cases occurred of mares foaling down actually in the paddock itself, these being cases in which mares foaled earlier than their condition indicated, and consequently had not been separated early enough. In cases of this latter sort mares about to foal will always separate
GENERAL ARTICLES.
295
themselves from the remainder of a herd, and the latter appear to be in no way disturbed by such an occurrence. Furthermore, when steps were taken to obviate any risk of sympathy by segregating all mares within two or three months of their full period of gestation, abortions still continued to occur. From my own experience I am inclined to believe that in the case of donkeys sympathy does not play such a prominent part as a cause of abortion as one might be led to imagine. I do not for one moment suggest that occasional cases do not occur frolll this cause, and that one should, therefore, not take every precaution to avoid such a possibility; but as an explanation of the disease occurring in epizootic form it is unsatisfactory, more especially when the removal of such a possibility meets with no marked success. The term, no doubt, is a useful one, since it is impossible to deny the correctness of cases diagnosed as such, and it removes the onus of more careful and searching investigation, and, moreover, may act as a cloak to ignorance. In my opinion it should be used with caution, and not until a thorough investigation of other possible causes has been made. 3. Friglttenzng by Wild Animals.-This may be neglected as a possible cause, since there are no wild animals in the vicinity. 4. Climatic 11lJluence.-Aftt-r the outbreak had been in existence for about six months, I was inclined to believe that climate might have played some part in its determination, for the following reasons. The climate of Mona compared with that of most ~ther stations in the Punjab is hot. The hot weather commences in May, and May, June, and July are usually the hottest months. The commencement of the outbreak was coincident with the onset of the hot weather. Moreover, the change of climate in the case of the batch of mares from Mirpur (a hill station) would be very marked. The outbreak also appeared to terminate at the end of July 1907, although, as a matter of fact, this termination was more apparent than real, since it must be remembered that at this time twenty-nine mares had already aborted out of a stud of eightyfive; also a number of the latter had already foaled normally, and others had never been served owing to their being under three years of age, so that very few mares heavy in foal were remaining at this time. In the light of more recent experience, however, I am convinced that the role of climalic influence in the determination of the outbreak was unimportant. Donkeys in this country owned by natives lead a very hardy existence; they are usually worked very hard and unfed, being left to pick up what they can on the road sides. To the uninitiated, existence would not seem possible on such scanty diet as they are able to obtain, but such is the case. Hence, it seems highly improbable that animals which for generations have led such a hardy existence, mostly in the plains, would be influenced to such an extent by a climate in which they were born and reared. Another fact also, which tends to strengthen this conclusion, is that the mares of the country-bred mare stud (horses) were unaffected in any way by the heat. Moreover, it has been my experience that country-bred stock of all kinds-horses, mules, and donkeys-whether young or aged,
GENERAL ARTICLES.
appear little, if at all, affected by extreme heat, even where shelter is scanty or entirely absent. One may judge this by the condition stock keep, and the small percentage of cases of sickness which occurs during the hot weather months. Rain is a much more potent factor in determining outbreaks of disease, in spite of its cooling influence; and I should say that with reference to disease the spring months are probably the most favourable for its development, no doubt aided by the fact that the animal organism is more sensitive at this period, owing to changing of coat, etc. 5. Contagion.- The question which naturally arose in my mind from the very commencement was, Is this contagious abortion, and, if so, is the causal organism identical with that known as Bang's bacillus, accepted as being the causal organism of contagious abortion of cattle, or is the disease a specific contagious one, but caused by a species of organism pathogenic only for the donkey? The solution of this problem is fraught with innumerable difficulties, which I will proceed to discuss. In view of the possibility of the outbreak being contagious, necessary prophylactic measures were adopted from the very outset. A point worthy of notice is that the outbreak commenced within a few days of the mixing together of the animals of the two paddocks and the placing of them all together in D paddock. I am unable to suggest, however, what bearing this may have had on the outbreak, since there was no apparent contagious disease in ekher paddock prior to the mixing. Presuming at the outset that the abortion might be of a contagious nature, the question naturally arose as to how and when the in(ection was introduced. vVith a view to elucidating this point, I traced out the history of all donkey mares which had, arrived in the stud since the 22nd October 1906, i.e., since the date of the arrival of the batch of twenty from Mirpur. I presumed that these latter were healthy, since they had existed for some time as a stud at Mirpur, and no report to the contrary was received from that place. The following table will best show the details : Donkeys which on Arrt"7l al were put into M Paddock. Date of Arrival.
Numbe,· Arrivinu.
30
IO
06
I
[23
II
06
I
126
I I
06
I
!
2
I
I I
12 06
3
I I
2 07
2
i I I
2 07
Whether in Foal or not on Arrit·al. If in Foal, the Result.
One foaled normally on 26th April '907 One not in foal Not in foal Do. Foaled normally on 14th April 1907 Not in foal (under three years old) Do. do.
Whence Received.
Date of F"·8t Service in Stud.
Seoni Kala
5th May 1907.
Fulteh Jung Choa Syden Shah Lahore
11th Dec. 1906. 30th Dec. 1906.
Gujrat Attock Rawalpindi
Not covered up t o time of outbreak 23rd April 1907. Not covered up t o time of outbreak Do. do.
297
GENERA L ARTICLES.
None of the above mares a borted durin g the first year of the <>utbreak; and, leavin g out the possibility of any particular mare, although not herself the subject of disease, coming from all infected area and acting as an agen t for the transmission of infection, no suspicion can be attached to these. Donkeys wlzich on ArriZlal were put into D Paddock. Number Arriving.
Date of Arrival.
Wh ether in Foal or not on Arrival. I f in Foal, the Result.
Wh ence R eceived.
Date of First Service in the Stud.
Not in foal (under three years old) Do. do.
Chakwal
Not covered up to date of outbreak. Do. do.
I
14
2
07
1
14
2
07
2
16
2
07
Do.
do.
Chakwal
Do.
do.
I
16
2
07
Do.
do.
Jhelum
Do.
do.
I
18
2
07
Sohawa
Do.
do.
I
19
2
07
Sibi
Do.
do.
1
19
2
07
Putrid fcetus removed by hand on 7th May 1907 Not in foa l (under three years old ) Do. do.
Lahore
Sibi
1St April 1907.
Amongst the above there is one mare which stands out prominently as having possibly introduced infection, viz. , the mare from Sohawa. She arrived about two and a half months before the commencement <>f the outbreak, and was one of the first to abort. The actual date <>f her service was unknown, but I should judge that the fcetus was about eight or nine months gone in gestation. I wrote to the purchasing officer about her, asking him to make enquiries as to whether any cases of abortion had occurred in the district in which she was bought, and also as to whether she had had a foal with her late owner. The answer to the first question was in the negative, and to the second that she had had a fo · d previous to purchase, which latter was foaled normally. However, one cannot place too much reliance on such information, firstly, owing to the difficulties of prosecuting enquiries; and secondly, owing to the fact that although answers might be given to questions by natives in good faith to the best of their belief, the latter would be unlikely to exert themselves in any way to obtain reliable information, their evidence being merely hearsay, and moreover, were the subject of enquiry likely to cause prejudice against themselves or their belongings, they would be more likely to give answers to suit their own interests.
Stalliotls as a Possible Source
0.1 Infection.
I could not incriminate any particular" jack" as having possibly introduced the disease. The sires of the mares which aborted in 1907 included five different donkey stallions, i.e., the stallions used to serve them, viz., three Americans, one Italian, on e country-bred. Up to date, however, amongst the stallions used on mares which have aborted are included two others, viz., one American and one
29 8
GENERAL ARTICLES.
country-bred, making a total of seven donkey stallions, the sires of various abortions. Of these seven stallions, two had left the stud before I took over charge. The remaining five, however, were under my close supervision during the whole time that they were used as stallions in this stud. Supposing the disease to be contagious, there is no doubt that the stallions must have acted as mechanical transmitters of the disease to a very large extent, and especially in the cases of the mares which aborted in 1907, for the following reason: At the time they were covering these mares in 1906 there was no suspicion of any contagious disease, and although it had been the custom to sluice out the sheath and penis of a stallion after each service with a solution of permanganate of potash, such treatment would be quite inadequate to prevent the transmission of infective material with any degree of certainty, should such infective material be present in the vaginal canal at the time of service. Hence it will be seen, where stallions were used to serve a number of different mares within a short space of time, what a fruitful source of transmission they may have been. In the case of mares which arrived in the stud in foal to unknown stallions and aborted after admission to the stud, I cannot vouch for the freedom from disease of these stallions, but I am confident that all the stallions used in the stud since it has been under my charge have been healthy, and free from any sign of disease of the genital organs at the time they were so used. I am strongly of opinion that they were in no way to blame as originators of the outbreak. although, assuming the disease to be contagious, they must of necessity have acted very largely as mechanical transmitters of the disease.
Arguments which might be put Forward against the Contagious Nature of the Disease. I. As far as I am aware there is no record of abortion occurring in a contagious form to any extent in this country either amongst cattle, horses, or donkeys. In 1907 I was asked for advice with regard to a certain horse-breeding stud belonging to a native cavalry regiment in which a few cases of abortion had occurred. It was afterwards reported to me that no more cases had occurred after carrying out the measures suggested by me, notably, removing the mares to clean ground some considerable distance away from the paddocks in which the abortions had occurred. All the districts in the Punjab in which animals are purchased for this dep6t are, as far as breeding operations are concerned, under the close supervision of officers of the Remount Department, and had a disease of this sort existed in any district it would have attracted immediate attention. 2. Assuming that some particular donkey mare was the subject of the disease on her arrival in the stud, it is difficult to understand, reviewing the features of the outbreak at its commencement, how so many mares became infected within so short a space of time, so as to cause twelve to abort within a week. The explanation of this may be that these twelve mares were not all actually infected within the same short space of time, but that, having been infected at longer
GENERAL ARTICLES.
intervals, the varying periods of incubation in individual cases coincidently caused them to abort within the space of a few days. Their mode of existence in the stud was not one which would favour rapid and direct spread of such a disease from animal to animal. They were kept in large paddocks without shelter of any sort, and hence led an entirely open-air existence. Had infective material been discharged on to the ground by any mare in the form of vaginal discharge or this latter mixed with the urine, it would have been rapidly dessicated by the strong sun's rays, and the fact of their never being tied up in buildings or forcibly brought into close contact with each other is an argument against the rapid spread of such a disease. . It must be admitted. also, that the features of the outbreak at its commencement, i.e., the number of cases of abortion dropping from twelve in the first week to three in the second, pointed rather to the cause being some poison taken in with food or water. In the case of G:ontagious abortion one would have expected cases to occur at longer intervals. 3. Another point which led me at first to regard the outbreak as non-contagious was the fact that the paddocks in which these donkey mares were originally kept were 110t only within the precincts of the stud of country-bred mares (horse), but closely adjacent to the paddocks of the latter. There was free intercommunication between the attendants of the donkeys and those of the mares; and, realising the dirty habits of the natives, their filthy garments, etc., it seemed inevitable that, were the disease contagious, it must be communicated to this other country-bred mare stud. Moreover, the same veterinary assistant was in charge of both studs, and his duties included the frequent examination per vagina11l of mares of both studs. Such, however, did not happen; and since the commencement of the outbreak in May 1907 up to date (October 1909) not a single accident has happened in this other stud. The explanation of this may be, however, that it is a form of contagious abortion caused by an organism pathogenic only for the donkey. Before proceeding to discuss the arguments in favour of the theory of contagion I will first detail symptoms, treatment, and preventive measures adopted, since the arguments in favour of the disease being regarded as contagiol!s depend to a large extent on the results obtained from the latter.
Symptoms. There were no premonitory symptoms of any sort. On the occasions on which abortions took place under the direct observation of some one of the attendants the act appeared to be performed with as much ease as an act of normal parturition. On the one or two occasions on which symptoms of imminent abortion were observed before the actual act had commenced it was always too late for preventive treatment to be of any avail. The only difference which might have been said to exist between an act of abortion and one of normal parturition was that the former was accompanied by no premonitory symptoms, such as the presence of milk, waxing of the teats, etc. The cases of abortion occurred so unexpectedly that one might
3 00
GENER AL ARTICLES.
almost have imag ined that the mares had only made up their minds to get rid of their encumbrances a few minutes before carrying the act into execution. In one or two cases only was any difficulty experienced by the mare. In one case prolapse of the uterus ellsued, but was reduced without difficulty, and the mare made an un eventful recovery, in spite of the fact that the accident took place in a deep sandy paddock, and the uterus and membranes attached thereto were , covered with a thick coating of sand , which was extremely difficult to wash off. In another case assistance had to be given, and the fcetus removed by hand . In the majority of cases, however, after the act of abortion the subjects appeared in no way di sturbed. Th'e re was never any actual discharge from the vulva, although for a few days there might be an excess of mucus, or possibly a drop of purulent material might be seen at the lower meatus. There were no other symptoms worthy of note.
Treatment and Preventive Measures. After the first few cases had occurred grazing was stopped, and in lieu thereof a ration of cut green grass was given . The grain ration of 2 lbs. gram per head was changed to I lb. oats and I lb. bran. After a case of abortion the fcetus was burned together with the membranes. The ground also on to which the latter had been delivered was dug up, the surface soil removed and burned, and the place disinfected as thoroughly as possible. The mare herself was removed to another paddock kept especially for the purpose. She underwent the following treatment: Her womb was irrigated once daily for a week with a warm I per cent. solution of phenyl, and three times only at regular intervals during the second week. She was served again the first time she came in season after one month had elapsed from the date of abortion. This covering of mares after abortion will be referred to again later. After a number of cases had occurred the procedure adopted became slightly altered. The stud resolved itself into two separate and distinct studs, which, for purposes of description, I will name the healthy and abortion studs. The mares constituting the abortion stud were sent to a paddock some distance from the stud proper for segregation purposes. A special stallion was kept for these mares. After a mare had aborted she was immediately removed from the healthy stud and sent straight to hospital, where she underwent the treatment above referred to. After one month had elapsed from the date of abortion the mare, if considered fit, was discharged from hospital and sent to the abortion stud paddock. After being admitted to this paddock she wat; then served as soon as she might come in season, and if she did not hold was again covered at her next season, and so on. In fact, with regard to coverings, etc., exactly the same procedure was adopted in the abortion stud as in the healthy stud when once a mare had been admitted to the former. Particular attention was paid to the cleansing of the genitals of the stallion after every service. For the rest, the abortion mares received no special treatment. They were allowed out grazing daily in a specially allotted area, and at night
GENERAL ARTICLES.
301
were shut in their own paddock, in which latter also all testings, coverings, etc., were carrieJ out. At the end of the second week of the outbreak, when it showed no signs of abating, the following precaution was adopted. All mares of the healthy stud which were within six months of their full period of gestation were split up into batches of threes and fours, and placed in different parts of the depot, outside the stud precincts altogether. Each group occupied a separate paddock, so that it remained segregated. It was hoped . that by this means the chances of sympathetic abortion would be reduced to a minimum, as would also the risk of infection from an aborted fcetus, mem branes, discharges, etc. The remainder of the healthy stud, which included mares in foal, but not within six months of foaling, and fillies under three years old (including weanling fillies), were sent to some specially constructed thorn - enclosed paddocks, a considerable distance away from the stud precincts and from stock of every kind. These paddocks were situated in the middle of a large stretch of uncleared land, where there was good grazing. The mares and fillies of this stud (including also unweaned colts) were allowed out grazing the whole day, and only shut in their paddocks at night. The testings and coverings, etc., of the mares were carried out close to these paddocks. The splitting up of the mares hea.vy in foal into small groups appeared to have no beneficial effect in reducing the number of cases of abortion. Seeing this to be the case, and owing to the very great difficulty experienced with regard to attendants, watering and feeding arrangements, etc., it was decided that the scheme did not justify the extra labour and expense involved. These heavy-in-foal mares. were therefore returned to the healthy stud (to the above-mentioned paddocks), and the whole stud simply maintained in two distinct units-healthy and abortion. Every precaution, however, was taken in both studs to segregate mares within a reasonable time of foaling, i.c., two or three weeks.
A rgumcnts in Favour of the Disease being Contagious. In the first place, the length of time the disease has been in. existence, viz., two years and six months (three foaling seasons), and the fact of its still continuing to exist, is difficult to explain except by the theory of contagion. I f the foregoing table be studied it will be seen that of all the mares which held to their service after recovering from the effects of abortion, and in which sufficient time has since elapsed for the result to be seen (some mares went for many months. before they could be got in foal), only two mares have aborted a second time, while twenty-four mares have since foaled normally,. i.e., at the first parturition succeeding their abortion. Amongst the latter number is included mare No. 46, whose foal was born dead, but carried to the full time, and mare No. 53. which gave birth totwins, both of which lived for two days. From this same table it will be seen that mare NO.3 aborted three times in succession,. and ,another mare (No. 84) foaled normally to her service after her first abortion, but aborted again to her succeeding service. Many mares went empty for some time after aborting before they'
3 02
GENERAL ARTICLES.
could again be got into foal, but this is no uncommon thing even in a stud of healthy donkeys. In this country it matters little at what time of year foals are born. I n this particular district we enjoy a comparatively bracing cold season, and during the latter many very cold nights. At the same time, winter foals appear to do every bit as well as spring foals. Hence it is that in dealing with a stud one does not limit the covering season to the spring, but endeavours to get mares in foal at any season if they have not held to services in the spring. Of the mares which aborted in 1908-09 sufficient time has not yet elapsed for the results of these services to be ascertained, except in the case of one mare (No. 79;, which foaled normally. It will therefore be seen that the vast majority of mares which aborted in 1907 did not abort a second time, but foaled normally at their succeeding parturition, the mares which aborted in 1908-09 being mares of the so-called healthy stud aborting for the first time. From the foregoing facts it might reasonably be assumed that the ,abortion is a microbic disease, similar in many respects to the disease known as contagious abortion of cattle; and that the donkey mares after aborting once acquire a certain degree of immunity, although in exceptional cases they may abort a second and even a third time. Whether the disease is of the nature of a contagious metritis I am unable to say, since I have had no opportunities of making postmortem examinations. In the cases in which I had the opportunity of examining the fcetal membranes I could observe nothing of an abnormal nature, nor in the case of the mare which everted her womb ,did I observe any appearance of gelatinous exudate between the wall of the uterus and attached membranes. Microscopical examination of smears from the vaginal discharge revealed a mixture of organisms, including cocci, cocco-bacilli, and rod-shaped organisms. Whether the latter included any of Bang's bacilli I am unable to say, since had they been present I should have been unable to recognise them by their morphological characters. I communicated with the Imperial Bacteriologist on the subject, but, owing to the stress of work and short handedness, he was unable to undertake any experiments in connection with the outbreak, which would have necessitated not only a long and costly series of experiments, but also a man on the spot versed in the technique of bacteriological research to devote his whole time to the subject. The Imperial Bacteriologist's reply to my queries was to the effect that to demonstrate whether or not the disease was contagious would necessitate experiments on a number of pregnant animals, and, further, were it demonstrated to be contagious, to isolate the specific causal organism would necessitate the isolation of the various species of organisms present in the vaginal discharge, and inoculation experiments with each species thus isolated. I forwarded material from the vaginal passage, obtained by soaking it up in tampons of sterile cotton-wool, which the Imperial Bateriologist (Captain Holmes) very kindly examined for me, and reported that a mixture of organisms was present in the specimens examined, amongst them being bipolar-staining cocco-bacilli in abundance. My thanks are due to Captain Holmes for his ever ready help and .advice.
GENERAL ARTICLES.
The foregoing article does not profess to be anything more than a clinical account of what I think is an interesting disease. I am sorry that I have been unable to investigate the outbreak more thoroughly and to determine with more certainty its cause. Since, however, the charge of these studs forms only a very small part of my duties, I had neither time, opportunity, nor facilities for making a more thorough and scientific investigation. I thought, however, that since it falls to the lot of few veterinary surgeons to have anything to do with donkeys, and more especially donkey - breeding, the bare record of the clinical features of the outbreak would not be without interest.
H.lEMOSTASIS IN THE MODERN METHODS OF CASTRATION} Report by
J.
MACQUEEN, F.R.C.V.S., Royal Veterinary
College, London.
NOTWITHSTANDING the inestimable value of antisepsis and its well-
proved advantages in most branches of veterinary surgery, Listerism does not appear to be generally adopted in castration, this being perhaps the only important operation that continues to be practised with very scanty aseptic precautions. This indifference probably is due partly to the undeniable success which attends castration by rough and ready methods, and partly to the increasing popularity of the standing operation, in which rigorous antisepsis is very difficult or impracticable. But the commonest immediate danger of castration is ha:morrhage, and though a few veterinary surgeons consider that the prevention of bleeding is of as much importance as asepsis, most operators are careful to use clean instruments and dean hands. The possible occurrence of post-operative bleeding, which is mainly attributable to infection of the wound, should be sufficient, apart from other reasons, to secure the adoption of antiseptic methods. Ha:morrhage from the testicular artery is prevented or arrested by a variable process of provisional obstruction produced by compression, laceration, or rupture, with more or less contraction and inversion of the middle and internal coats, stasis, and usually thrombus formation. The injury to the vessel is followed sooner or later, according to the method employed, by plastic arteritis and permanent closure of the artery by fibrous tissue derived from elements furnished by the vessel wall, and by cicatrisation of the end of the cord. Ha:morrhage immediately following section of the cord suggests failure of the means employed to prevent it, or some error in operation. Secondary ha:morrhage, though less common since the advent of antiseptic methods, may be due to infection of the injured artery, with arrest of the process of repair; infection of the clot, which breaks down; insufficient blood supply to the obstructing tissue; violent straining; rough handling or restlessness of the patient; or, occasionally in old horses, disease of the vessel wall. 1 From the proceedings of the Ninth International Veterinary Congress at The Hague, September 1909.
COMPARATIVE PATHOLOGY AND
THERAPEUTICS VOL. XXI I.-No. 4.
DECEMBER 31,1909.
PRICE 2S. 6d.
ABORTION IN A DONKEY STUD.
By E. CLIVE WEBB, Captain A.V.C., Remount DepOt, Mona, Punjab. THE following article deals with an outbreak of abortion in a stud of donkey mares under my charge. The outbreak commenced in May 1907, in which year a large number of casualties occurred. The disease has continued to exist up to date (1st October 1909), although the number of cases which have occurred in 1908 and 1909 up to the present time have been few compared with the number which occurred during the first year of the outbreak. At the same time, the number of cases which still continue to occur at regular intervals is sufficiently serious to determine a grave reduction in the annual percentage of foals born, added to which is the difficulty of getting at the root of the evil and taking the necessary steps to eradicate the disease. The strength of this donkey stud is eighty brood donkey mares and several donkey stallions (" jacks") for the service of these mares. There have been one or two changes amongst these "jacks," unsuitable ones having been replaced. At the present time, however, there are in all four" jacks" in use in the stud. The object of this stud is to breed donkey stallions suitable for use in the various mulebreeding districts. Before proceeding with the details of the outbreak itself, it is necessary to give some idea of the distribution of the mares, their method of existence, and the places from which they were received,a knowledge of which is necessary when discussing the possible '1'
GENIWAL ARTICLI-:S.
causes of the outbreak, and especially in relation to the theory of contagion. At the time of my taking over charge in February 1907 these donkey mares were separated into two lots and kept in two separate paddocks. Besides this donkey stud, there is another stud consisting of twenty pure country-bred mares (horse) under my charge. This latter stud, consisting of the brood mares and their progeny, i.e., colts and fillies up to three years of age, occupies a specially fenced-in and large area of land, within which are a number of paddocks, fenced or walled. It is this fenced land with its contained paddocks, stables, stock, etc., which we speak of in this depot as the stud. The two donkey mare paddocks, to which reference is made above, are in the stud, although separated from each other by a distance of several hundred yards. Prior to the commencement of the outbreak in one of these paddocks, which for the purposes of description I will call M paddock, there were thirty donkey mares whose history was as follows:. Twenty mares arrived from a place called Mirpur in October 1906. These mares were part of a donkey stud maintained at that place (near the hill station of Abbottabad), but it had been decided to transfer this stud from Mirpur to Mona for certain reasons; hence their arrival. The remaining ten mares were purchased at various villages in the breeding districts for the purpose of bringing up the strength of the Mona donkey stud to eighty brood mares, and they arrived in the following months: October 1906, two mares; November 1906, two mares; December 1906, one mare; February 1907, five mares. It had not been the custom to segregate new purchases on their arrival, but when the large batch of twenty arrived from Mirpur it was decided to segregate them for six months. The remaining ten mares of this paddock therefore should not have been placed with these Mirpur mares, but in the other paddock, which I will call D paddock, along with the other mares which arrived in small batches and had been purchased in various places. In D paddock there were altogether fifty-six mares, making the total five over the authorised strength of this stud. These fifty-six arrived in the depot during the following months: March 1904, five; September 1904, four; November 1904, one; January 1905, three; March 1905, two; November 1905, three; January 1906, one; February 1906, three; March 1906, twenty-three; April 1906, three; February 1907, eight. I t will be seen that the latest arrivals in both paddocks were in February 1907. Many of the mares arrived in foal to unknown" jacks," and after foaling were again served. Those not in foal on arrival, if three years old or over, were covered on first coming in season. On the 24th April 1907 the mares from M paddock were taken out and put in D paddock with the remainder. Although the batch of twenty Mirpur mares had been in M paddock for six months, their actual segregation period and that of the remaining ten mares was Qnly two months, i.e., counting from the date of the last arrival. Similarly, the mares in D paddock had gone two clear months from
GENERAL ARTICLES.
the date of the last arrival to the date of mixing. Up to this latter
GENERAL ARTICLES.
Detailed List of .JEares 'wlticlt Aborted in tilt Order of Occurrence. - . -- ----------------"c-------~-----------------
(1)
I
(2) D a lf' ot'
~
Service'to 'wh i ch
she Held.
~.
I I
(3)
(4)
I'
( ; )
i
Daft. of
Date or'
Suvice to
I
AlJO/'twn.
u'/ach Ish, IItI,I.
!
Resvlt.
(7)
I
m(l.
Service to
M
whwh
(t)'.
tur,twn 0/'
I
26/9/06
4/5/07 [ 13/6/07
19 46
23/6/06 2(;/7/06
5/5/07 5/5/07
I 19/2/00
15/7/08
11/5/06
6/.5/07
34 84
6/5/07 7/5/07 : 12/8/07
3.J
10/7/06 Not known 15/5/06
8/5/07
·n 23
25/5/06 1/7/0G
8/5/07 , 30/5/09 8/5/07 17/9/07
9 4 26 13 ,
20/!l/06 ,}}J/7/0H 18/5/06 18/5/06
8/5/07 . 6/7/07 8/5/07 30/1>/08 8/5/07 1017/07 12/5/07 7/7/07
28 57
27/7/06 27/7/00
12/5/07 13/5/07
30 3
2/8/06 25/5/06
56 3 H 24 S 14 48 53
9/10/06 21/6/07 20/11/06 22/6/07
I ._ _. _
_
-
-
26/10/07 13/7/07
Do. Abortion
30/7/06
21/5/07
15/7/07
24/11/08
19/7/06 24/6/06 3/8/06 7/11/06 25/6/06
26/5/07 27/5/07 10/6/07 11/6/07 20/6/07
15/1/08 12/9/07
G/1/09 ! 28/8/08 11/8/08 I' 4/1/09 1/3/09
26/6/07
27/2/08 28/1/08 4/5/08 25/1/08 16/2/OS 20/12/07 4/2/08 12/8/08 10/9/08 9/12/08 6/1/09 20/10/08 11111/08 17/2/09
29/9/08 20/10/08 27/10/08 6/ll/OS 16/11/08 3/12/08
31/12/08
30/4/09 27/5/09 31/5/09 15m/09 25/8/09 13/9/09 29/9/09
26/9/0S
I
I'
I
-
-
Foal died, pneu mouia, 27/8/08.
!
30/11/08 1 4/1/08 i 11/2/08
1/9/OS Do. Normal 23/8/08 parturition I (twin) 15(9/07 Normal 22/9/08 parturition 27/9/07 Do. 10/9/08 4/9/07 Do. 7/9/08 24/10/07 Do. 16/11/08 7/6/08 Do. 9/6/09 28/8/08 Do. 14/8/09 14/10/08 17/3/09
12/10/08 14/1/09 2/6/09 17/5/09 I 15/12/OS [ 23/12/08 17/2/09 I' 25/6/09 ' -
Foal died at birth. Second foal died. influenza, 9/4/09 ; first foal carried full time, hut still-born
4/9/09
Normal parturi tion Do. Do. 318i07 Do. 29/12/07 Do. 4/2/08 Do.
Altbough carried t() full time, pl'Obably due to same caus& as abortions. First foal carried full time, but still-born
First foal carried ful time, but still-born Do.
19/5/07 20/5/07
27/6/07 19/7/07 29/7/07 14/3/08 11/6/08 18/7/08 23/9/08
8/4/09
13/8/08
15/8/08
17/8/07 25/8/07
1_ _ _ _
-
23/4/09 11/11/08 Abortion
27/8/08
(10)
])"t, oj I R esult. I
27/Il/OS 4/12/0S
Do. Do.
6/7/0G
Iii
918/07
Normal parturition Abortion Normal parturition Do.
8/R/08 17/6/07
30/12/00 8/3/07 16/11/06 20/9/07 1/10/07 14/11/07 24/9/07
H!l 83
I
I
I
2/7/08 5/7/09 26/7/08 14/9/08
7
38 22 8:> 68 49 liO 74 88 11 ,')8 78
1!!./7/09 '
Normal parturition Do. Do. Do. Do.
71 61 1 79 30 4,;
i
5/3/0(1 ,
(9)
1
i 23/6/07 I 21l/6/08
G7
76
25/Il/08 [
Normal parturition Do, Foal born dead
Runte.
sh. lIeld.
I Abortion. i----I----~ - - - -1-- - - - 1 ---20
(8)
JJate of
ReslJJt,
I
I
«(;) D(tte 0/
Ii.e· :01 i I
Abortion
9/1/0f!
First foal carried ful time, but still·born.
i
First foal carried ful time, but still-born. Both died two days. after birth.
Foal carried ful time, but still-born
GENERAL ARTICLES.
293
Weekly SUlJlmary showing tile Progress 0./ the Disease ./1'0111 the Commencement to the End 0./ I907. Total of mares which aborted during week ending 9th May 1907 " " " 16th Ma y 1907 23 rd May 1907 " " " " " " 30th May 1907 " " " 7th June 1907 " " " 13th June 1907 " " " 20th June 1907 " " " 27th June 1907 " " " 4th July 1907 " " " 12th July 1907 " ., " 19th July 1907 " " " 27th July 1907 " " " 3rd Augus t 1907 " " " I I th August 1907 " " " 18th August 1907
12
3 3 2 Nil 2 4 N il Nil I
Nil I
Nil Nil
Total
29
Total number of mares which aborted in 1907 "
"
"
"
29
1908
"
"
...
13
Grand total
5I
1909, up to 30th September
9
Return showing Foalings during past Three Years, excluding Cases oj Abortion. I
!
F oalhlgs. : Number of Mares Covered. Colts. Fillies.
I
Year.
I
-- --
32
1906-07 (from 1st April to 31st March
12
-
- ------12
Percentage.
I I
I I
---- - -
75 22·4
1907- 0 8
"
"
67
5
10
I
1908-09
"
"
78
20
25
37
47
57 .69 I-----
I
177
I
I
47"4 6
()f grazing, I could discover nothing of a poisonous nature in the way of weeds or shrubs likely to give rise to such an outbreak. The progress of the outbreak during the second week, i.e., the 1I1umber of cases of abortion falling from twelve to three, led me to believe that my surmise as to the cause of abortion had been correct. Unfortunately, however, during the third and following weeks there was no falling off in the number of cases, and the outbreak had assumed a very serious aspect. My suspicions also as to the contagious nature of the disease were daily streng thened. I t will be seen that there was no regularity in the length of time the f~tuses were carried, this varying from four months up to the full period of gestation, which latter in donkeys is roughly twelve months; and in my experience the majority are inclined to carry the f~tus over rather than under this period.
294
GENERAL ARTICLES.
It will not be out of place here to discuss some of the common causes of abortion with reference to their bearing on this outbreak. 1. Poisons taken in witlt Food or TVater.-Mention has already been made above of the possibility of poisonous weeds or shrubs picked up whilst out grazing being accountable for the outbreak. The question at the commencement, before precautions had been taken to obviate such a possibility, was a difficult one to decide. Certain plants might be poisonous at one season of the year and not at another. In others, the fruit and seeds only might be poisonous; and in others, again, only the young succulent growing plants. Such points could only be determined definitely by a series of feeding experiments. In the light of further experience, however, such poisons may be disregarded as a possible cause in this outbreak, since the stopping of grazing for some considerable time failed to have any beneficial effect in lessening the number of cases. Water polluted with sewage is said to be a common cause of abortion. Such a cause could have had no influence in this outbreak; for although at first, when the mares used to go out grazing daily> they were in the habit of drinking canal water out of irrigation channels, which might possibly, although very improbably, have been polluted; and later, when the stud was split up into small batches as a precautionary measure, and the mares were watered from wells, it had no beneficial effect. The grain the mares were receiving before the commencement of the outbreak consisted of 2 Ibs. gram (channa) per head. This latter is a kind of pea, and is the commonest variety of grain fed to horses, mules, etc., in this ccruntry, and might be said to take the place of oats. It may be given in practically any quantity up to 8 or 10 Ibs. daily, either alone or combined with other varieties of grain, such as barley, bran, etc. This gram fed to the mares was frequently inspected by me, and was always of good quality. The commonest defect in gram is weevil; but, excepting for loss of nutriment, I have never seen such weevil-eaten grain do any serious harm. However, to obviate any possible risk in its use I changed the grain ration from gram to oats and bran, but, as anticipated, without benefit. 2. SY11lpathy.-A great deal of stress has been laid on this as a cause of abortion, especially in the case of donkeys. When discussing this subject with a native who had had some considerable experience in donkey - breeding, he informed me that if donkey mares were allowed to foal down in a paddock with other in-foal mares the latter were very prone to abort. I am convinced, however, that sympathy played no prominent part in the outbreak under discussion for the following reasons. In the first place, up to the time of the outbreak the mares had been allowed to. foal down in a railed enclosure in a corner of their respective paddocks in full view of the remaining mares of the paddock, many of which latter were heavy in foal, and for several months during which this procedure was in vogue no mishap occurred. Moreover, many cases occurred of mares foaling down actually in the paddock itself, these being cases in which mares foaled earlier than their condition indicated, and consequently had not been separated early enough. In cases of this latter sort mares about to foal will always separate
GENERAL ARTICLES.
295
themselves from the remainder of a herd, and the latter appear to be in no way disturbed by such an occurrence. Furthermore, when steps were taken to obviate any risk of sympathy by segregating all mares within two or three months of their full period of gestation, abortions still continued to occur. From my own experience I am inclined to believe that in the case of donkeys sympathy does not play such a prominent part as a cause of abortion as one might be led to imagine. I do not for one moment suggest that occasional cases do not occur frolll this cause, and that one should, therefore, not take every precaution to avoid such a possibility; but as an explanation of the disease occurring in epizootic form it is unsatisfactory, more especially when the removal of such a possibility meets with no marked success. The term, no doubt, is a useful one, since it is impossible to deny the correctness of cases diagnosed as such, and it removes the onus of more careful and searching investigation, and, moreover, may act as a cloak to ignorance. In my opinion it should be used with caution, and not until a thorough investigation of other possible causes has been made. 3. Friglttenzng by Wild Animals.-This may be neglected as a possible cause, since there are no wild animals in the vicinity. 4. Climatic 11lJluence.-Aftt-r the outbreak had been in existence for about six months, I was inclined to believe that climate might have played some part in its determination, for the following reasons. The climate of Mona compared with that of most ~ther stations in the Punjab is hot. The hot weather commences in May, and May, June, and July are usually the hottest months. The commencement of the outbreak was coincident with the onset of the hot weather. Moreover, the change of climate in the case of the batch of mares from Mirpur (a hill station) would be very marked. The outbreak also appeared to terminate at the end of July 1907, although, as a matter of fact, this termination was more apparent than real, since it must be remembered that at this time twenty-nine mares had already aborted out of a stud of eightyfive; also a number of the latter had already foaled normally, and others had never been served owing to their being under three years of age, so that very few mares heavy in foal were remaining at this time. In the light of more recent experience, however, I am convinced that the role of climalic influence in the determination of the outbreak was unimportant. Donkeys in this country owned by natives lead a very hardy existence; they are usually worked very hard and unfed, being left to pick up what they can on the road sides. To the uninitiated, existence would not seem possible on such scanty diet as they are able to obtain, but such is the case. Hence, it seems highly improbable that animals which for generations have led such a hardy existence, mostly in the plains, would be influenced to such an extent by a climate in which they were born and reared. Another fact also, which tends to strengthen this conclusion, is that the mares of the country-bred mare stud (horses) were unaffected in any way by the heat. Moreover, it has been my experience that country-bred stock of all kinds-horses, mules, and donkeys-whether young or aged,
GENERAL ARTICLES.
appear little, if at all, affected by extreme heat, even where shelter is scanty or entirely absent. One may judge this by the condition stock keep, and the small percentage of cases of sickness which occurs during the hot weather months. Rain is a much more potent factor in determining outbreaks of disease, in spite of its cooling influence; and I should say that with reference to disease the spring months are probably the most favourable for its development, no doubt aided by the fact that the animal organism is more sensitive at this period, owing to changing of coat, etc. 5. Contagion.- The question which naturally arose in my mind from the very commencement was, Is this contagious abortion, and, if so, is the causal organism identical with that known as Bang's bacillus, accepted as being the causal organism of contagious abortion of cattle, or is the disease a specific contagious one, but caused by a species of organism pathogenic only for the donkey? The solution of this problem is fraught with innumerable difficulties, which I will proceed to discuss. In view of the possibility of the outbreak being contagious, necessary prophylactic measures were adopted from the very outset. A point worthy of notice is that the outbreak commenced within a few days of the mixing together of the animals of the two paddocks and the placing of them all together in D paddock. I am unable to suggest, however, what bearing this may have had on the outbreak, since there was no apparent contagious disease in ekher paddock prior to the mixing. Presuming at the outset that the abortion might be of a contagious nature, the question naturally arose as to how and when the in(ection was introduced. vVith a view to elucidating this point, I traced out the history of all donkey mares which had, arrived in the stud since the 22nd October 1906, i.e., since the date of the arrival of the batch of twenty from Mirpur. I presumed that these latter were healthy, since they had existed for some time as a stud at Mirpur, and no report to the contrary was received from that place. The following table will best show the details : Donkeys which on Arrt"7l al were put into M Paddock. Date of Arrival.
Numbe,· Arrivinu.
30
IO
06
I
[23
II
06
I
126
I I
06
I
!
2
I
I I
12 06
3
I I
2 07
2
i I I
2 07
Whether in Foal or not on Arrit·al. If in Foal, the Result.
One foaled normally on 26th April '907 One not in foal Not in foal Do. Foaled normally on 14th April 1907 Not in foal (under three years old) Do. do.
Whence Received.
Date of F"·8t Service in Stud.
Seoni Kala
5th May 1907.
Fulteh Jung Choa Syden Shah Lahore
11th Dec. 1906. 30th Dec. 1906.
Gujrat Attock Rawalpindi
Not covered up t o time of outbreak 23rd April 1907. Not covered up t o time of outbreak Do. do.
297
GENERA L ARTICLES.
None of the above mares a borted durin g the first year of the <>utbreak; and, leavin g out the possibility of any particular mare, although not herself the subject of disease, coming from all infected area and acting as an agen t for the transmission of infection, no suspicion can be attached to these. Donkeys wlzich on ArriZlal were put into D Paddock. Number Arriving.
Date of Arrival.
Wh ether in Foal or not on Arrival. I f in Foal, the Result.
Wh ence R eceived.
Date of First Service in the Stud.
Not in foal (under three years old) Do. do.
Chakwal
Not covered up to date of outbreak. Do. do.
I
14
2
07
1
14
2
07
2
16
2
07
Do.
do.
Chakwal
Do.
do.
I
16
2
07
Do.
do.
Jhelum
Do.
do.
I
18
2
07
Sohawa
Do.
do.
I
19
2
07
Sibi
Do.
do.
1
19
2
07
Putrid fcetus removed by hand on 7th May 1907 Not in foa l (under three years old ) Do. do.
Lahore
Sibi
1St April 1907.
Amongst the above there is one mare which stands out prominently as having possibly introduced infection, viz. , the mare from Sohawa. She arrived about two and a half months before the commencement <>f the outbreak, and was one of the first to abort. The actual date <>f her service was unknown, but I should judge that the fcetus was about eight or nine months gone in gestation. I wrote to the purchasing officer about her, asking him to make enquiries as to whether any cases of abortion had occurred in the district in which she was bought, and also as to whether she had had a foal with her late owner. The answer to the first question was in the negative, and to the second that she had had a fo · d previous to purchase, which latter was foaled normally. However, one cannot place too much reliance on such information, firstly, owing to the difficulties of prosecuting enquiries; and secondly, owing to the fact that although answers might be given to questions by natives in good faith to the best of their belief, the latter would be unlikely to exert themselves in any way to obtain reliable information, their evidence being merely hearsay, and moreover, were the subject of enquiry likely to cause prejudice against themselves or their belongings, they would be more likely to give answers to suit their own interests.
Stalliotls as a Possible Source
0.1 Infection.
I could not incriminate any particular" jack" as having possibly introduced the disease. The sires of the mares which aborted in 1907 included five different donkey stallions, i.e., the stallions used to serve them, viz., three Americans, one Italian, on e country-bred. Up to date, however, amongst the stallions used on mares which have aborted are included two others, viz., one American and one
29 8
GENERAL ARTICLES.
country-bred, making a total of seven donkey stallions, the sires of various abortions. Of these seven stallions, two had left the stud before I took over charge. The remaining five, however, were under my close supervision during the whole time that they were used as stallions in this stud. Supposing the disease to be contagious, there is no doubt that the stallions must have acted as mechanical transmitters of the disease to a very large extent, and especially in the cases of the mares which aborted in 1907, for the following reason: At the time they were covering these mares in 1906 there was no suspicion of any contagious disease, and although it had been the custom to sluice out the sheath and penis of a stallion after each service with a solution of permanganate of potash, such treatment would be quite inadequate to prevent the transmission of infective material with any degree of certainty, should such infective material be present in the vaginal canal at the time of service. Hence it will be seen, where stallions were used to serve a number of different mares within a short space of time, what a fruitful source of transmission they may have been. In the case of mares which arrived in the stud in foal to unknown stallions and aborted after admission to the stud, I cannot vouch for the freedom from disease of these stallions, but I am confident that all the stallions used in the stud since it has been under my charge have been healthy, and free from any sign of disease of the genital organs at the time they were so used. I am strongly of opinion that they were in no way to blame as originators of the outbreak. although, assuming the disease to be contagious, they must of necessity have acted very largely as mechanical transmitters of the disease.
Arguments which might be put Forward against the Contagious Nature of the Disease. I. As far as I am aware there is no record of abortion occurring in a contagious form to any extent in this country either amongst cattle, horses, or donkeys. In 1907 I was asked for advice with regard to a certain horse-breeding stud belonging to a native cavalry regiment in which a few cases of abortion had occurred. It was afterwards reported to me that no more cases had occurred after carrying out the measures suggested by me, notably, removing the mares to clean ground some considerable distance away from the paddocks in which the abortions had occurred. All the districts in the Punjab in which animals are purchased for this dep6t are, as far as breeding operations are concerned, under the close supervision of officers of the Remount Department, and had a disease of this sort existed in any district it would have attracted immediate attention. 2. Assuming that some particular donkey mare was the subject of the disease on her arrival in the stud, it is difficult to understand, reviewing the features of the outbreak at its commencement, how so many mares became infected within so short a space of time, so as to cause twelve to abort within a week. The explanation of this may be that these twelve mares were not all actually infected within the same short space of time, but that, having been infected at longer
GENERAL ARTICLES.
intervals, the varying periods of incubation in individual cases coincidently caused them to abort within the space of a few days. Their mode of existence in the stud was not one which would favour rapid and direct spread of such a disease from animal to animal. They were kept in large paddocks without shelter of any sort, and hence led an entirely open-air existence. Had infective material been discharged on to the ground by any mare in the form of vaginal discharge or this latter mixed with the urine, it would have been rapidly dessicated by the strong sun's rays, and the fact of their never being tied up in buildings or forcibly brought into close contact with each other is an argument against the rapid spread of such a disease. . It must be admitted. also, that the features of the outbreak at its commencement, i.e., the number of cases of abortion dropping from twelve in the first week to three in the second, pointed rather to the cause being some poison taken in with food or water. In the case of G:ontagious abortion one would have expected cases to occur at longer intervals. 3. Another point which led me at first to regard the outbreak as non-contagious was the fact that the paddocks in which these donkey mares were originally kept were 110t only within the precincts of the stud of country-bred mares (horse), but closely adjacent to the paddocks of the latter. There was free intercommunication between the attendants of the donkeys and those of the mares; and, realising the dirty habits of the natives, their filthy garments, etc., it seemed inevitable that, were the disease contagious, it must be communicated to this other country-bred mare stud. Moreover, the same veterinary assistant was in charge of both studs, and his duties included the frequent examination per vagina11l of mares of both studs. Such, however, did not happen; and since the commencement of the outbreak in May 1907 up to date (October 1909) not a single accident has happened in this other stud. The explanation of this may be, however, that it is a form of contagious abortion caused by an organism pathogenic only for the donkey. Before proceeding to discuss the arguments in favour of the theory of contagion I will first detail symptoms, treatment, and preventive measures adopted, since the arguments in favour of the disease being regarded as contagiol!s depend to a large extent on the results obtained from the latter.
Symptoms. There were no premonitory symptoms of any sort. On the occasions on which abortions took place under the direct observation of some one of the attendants the act appeared to be performed with as much ease as an act of normal parturition. On the one or two occasions on which symptoms of imminent abortion were observed before the actual act had commenced it was always too late for preventive treatment to be of any avail. The only difference which might have been said to exist between an act of abortion and one of normal parturition was that the former was accompanied by no premonitory symptoms, such as the presence of milk, waxing of the teats, etc. The cases of abortion occurred so unexpectedly that one might
3 00
GENER AL ARTICLES.
almost have imag ined that the mares had only made up their minds to get rid of their encumbrances a few minutes before carrying the act into execution. In one or two cases only was any difficulty experienced by the mare. In one case prolapse of the uterus ellsued, but was reduced without difficulty, and the mare made an un eventful recovery, in spite of the fact that the accident took place in a deep sandy paddock, and the uterus and membranes attached thereto were , covered with a thick coating of sand , which was extremely difficult to wash off. In another case assistance had to be given, and the fcetus removed by hand . In the majority of cases, however, after the act of abortion the subjects appeared in no way di sturbed. Th'e re was never any actual discharge from the vulva, although for a few days there might be an excess of mucus, or possibly a drop of purulent material might be seen at the lower meatus. There were no other symptoms worthy of note.
Treatment and Preventive Measures. After the first few cases had occurred grazing was stopped, and in lieu thereof a ration of cut green grass was given . The grain ration of 2 lbs. gram per head was changed to I lb. oats and I lb. bran. After a case of abortion the fcetus was burned together with the membranes. The ground also on to which the latter had been delivered was dug up, the surface soil removed and burned, and the place disinfected as thoroughly as possible. The mare herself was removed to another paddock kept especially for the purpose. She underwent the following treatment: Her womb was irrigated once daily for a week with a warm I per cent. solution of phenyl, and three times only at regular intervals during the second week. She was served again the first time she came in season after one month had elapsed from the date of abortion. This covering of mares after abortion will be referred to again later. After a number of cases had occurred the procedure adopted became slightly altered. The stud resolved itself into two separate and distinct studs, which, for purposes of description, I will name the healthy and abortion studs. The mares constituting the abortion stud were sent to a paddock some distance from the stud proper for segregation purposes. A special stallion was kept for these mares. After a mare had aborted she was immediately removed from the healthy stud and sent straight to hospital, where she underwent the treatment above referred to. After one month had elapsed from the date of abortion the mare, if considered fit, was discharged from hospital and sent to the abortion stud paddock. After being admitted to this paddock she wat; then served as soon as she might come in season, and if she did not hold was again covered at her next season, and so on. In fact, with regard to coverings, etc., exactly the same procedure was adopted in the abortion stud as in the healthy stud when once a mare had been admitted to the former. Particular attention was paid to the cleansing of the genitals of the stallion after every service. For the rest, the abortion mares received no special treatment. They were allowed out grazing daily in a specially allotted area, and at night
GENERAL ARTICLES.
301
were shut in their own paddock, in which latter also all testings, coverings, etc., were carrieJ out. At the end of the second week of the outbreak, when it showed no signs of abating, the following precaution was adopted. All mares of the healthy stud which were within six months of their full period of gestation were split up into batches of threes and fours, and placed in different parts of the depot, outside the stud precincts altogether. Each group occupied a separate paddock, so that it remained segregated. It was hoped . that by this means the chances of sympathetic abortion would be reduced to a minimum, as would also the risk of infection from an aborted fcetus, mem branes, discharges, etc. The remainder of the healthy stud, which included mares in foal, but not within six months of foaling, and fillies under three years old (including weanling fillies), were sent to some specially constructed thorn - enclosed paddocks, a considerable distance away from the stud precincts and from stock of every kind. These paddocks were situated in the middle of a large stretch of uncleared land, where there was good grazing. The mares and fillies of this stud (including also unweaned colts) were allowed out grazing the whole day, and only shut in their paddocks at night. The testings and coverings, etc., of the mares were carried out close to these paddocks. The splitting up of the mares hea.vy in foal into small groups appeared to have no beneficial effect in reducing the number of cases of abortion. Seeing this to be the case, and owing to the very great difficulty experienced with regard to attendants, watering and feeding arrangements, etc., it was decided that the scheme did not justify the extra labour and expense involved. These heavy-in-foal mares. were therefore returned to the healthy stud (to the above-mentioned paddocks), and the whole stud simply maintained in two distinct units-healthy and abortion. Every precaution, however, was taken in both studs to segregate mares within a reasonable time of foaling, i.c., two or three weeks.
A rgumcnts in Favour of the Disease being Contagious. In the first place, the length of time the disease has been in. existence, viz., two years and six months (three foaling seasons), and the fact of its still continuing to exist, is difficult to explain except by the theory of contagion. I f the foregoing table be studied it will be seen that of all the mares which held to their service after recovering from the effects of abortion, and in which sufficient time has since elapsed for the result to be seen (some mares went for many months. before they could be got in foal), only two mares have aborted a second time, while twenty-four mares have since foaled normally,. i.e., at the first parturition succeeding their abortion. Amongst the latter number is included mare No. 46, whose foal was born dead, but carried to the full time, and mare No. 53. which gave birth totwins, both of which lived for two days. From this same table it will be seen that mare NO.3 aborted three times in succession,. and ,another mare (No. 84) foaled normally to her service after her first abortion, but aborted again to her succeeding service. Many mares went empty for some time after aborting before they'
3 02
GENERAL ARTICLES.
could again be got into foal, but this is no uncommon thing even in a stud of healthy donkeys. In this country it matters little at what time of year foals are born. I n this particular district we enjoy a comparatively bracing cold season, and during the latter many very cold nights. At the same time, winter foals appear to do every bit as well as spring foals. Hence it is that in dealing with a stud one does not limit the covering season to the spring, but endeavours to get mares in foal at any season if they have not held to services in the spring. Of the mares which aborted in 1908-09 sufficient time has not yet elapsed for the results of these services to be ascertained, except in the case of one mare (No. 79;, which foaled normally. It will therefore be seen that the vast majority of mares which aborted in 1907 did not abort a second time, but foaled normally at their succeeding parturition, the mares which aborted in 1908-09 being mares of the so-called healthy stud aborting for the first time. From the foregoing facts it might reasonably be assumed that the ,abortion is a microbic disease, similar in many respects to the disease known as contagious abortion of cattle; and that the donkey mares after aborting once acquire a certain degree of immunity, although in exceptional cases they may abort a second and even a third time. Whether the disease is of the nature of a contagious metritis I am unable to say, since I have had no opportunities of making postmortem examinations. In the cases in which I had the opportunity of examining the fcetal membranes I could observe nothing of an abnormal nature, nor in the case of the mare which everted her womb ,did I observe any appearance of gelatinous exudate between the wall of the uterus and attached membranes. Microscopical examination of smears from the vaginal discharge revealed a mixture of organisms, including cocci, cocco-bacilli, and rod-shaped organisms. Whether the latter included any of Bang's bacilli I am unable to say, since had they been present I should have been unable to recognise them by their morphological characters. I communicated with the Imperial Bacteriologist on the subject, but, owing to the stress of work and short handedness, he was unable to undertake any experiments in connection with the outbreak, which would have necessitated not only a long and costly series of experiments, but also a man on the spot versed in the technique of bacteriological research to devote his whole time to the subject. The Imperial Bacteriologist's reply to my queries was to the effect that to demonstrate whether or not the disease was contagious would necessitate experiments on a number of pregnant animals, and, further, were it demonstrated to be contagious, to isolate the specific causal organism would necessitate the isolation of the various species of organisms present in the vaginal discharge, and inoculation experiments with each species thus isolated. I forwarded material from the vaginal passage, obtained by soaking it up in tampons of sterile cotton-wool, which the Imperial Bateriologist (Captain Holmes) very kindly examined for me, and reported that a mixture of organisms was present in the specimens examined, amongst them being bipolar-staining cocco-bacilli in abundance. My thanks are due to Captain Holmes for his ever ready help and .advice.
GENERAL ARTICLES.
The foregoing article does not profess to be anything more than a clinical account of what I think is an interesting disease. I am sorry that I have been unable to investigate the outbreak more thoroughly and to determine with more certainty its cause. Since, however, the charge of these studs forms only a very small part of my duties, I had neither time, opportunity, nor facilities for making a more thorough and scientific investigation. I thought, however, that since it falls to the lot of few veterinary surgeons to have anything to do with donkeys, and more especially donkey - breeding, the bare record of the clinical features of the outbreak would not be without interest.
H.lEMOSTASIS IN THE MODERN METHODS OF CASTRATION} Report by
J.
MACQUEEN, F.R.C.V.S., Royal Veterinary
College, London.
NOTWITHSTANDING the inestimable value of antisepsis and its well-
proved advantages in most branches of veterinary surgery, Listerism does not appear to be generally adopted in castration, this being perhaps the only important operation that continues to be practised with very scanty aseptic precautions. This indifference probably is due partly to the undeniable success which attends castration by rough and ready methods, and partly to the increasing popularity of the standing operation, in which rigorous antisepsis is very difficult or impracticable. But the commonest immediate danger of castration is ha:morrhage, and though a few veterinary surgeons consider that the prevention of bleeding is of as much importance as asepsis, most operators are careful to use clean instruments and dean hands. The possible occurrence of post-operative bleeding, which is mainly attributable to infection of the wound, should be sufficient, apart from other reasons, to secure the adoption of antiseptic methods. Ha:morrhage from the testicular artery is prevented or arrested by a variable process of provisional obstruction produced by compression, laceration, or rupture, with more or less contraction and inversion of the middle and internal coats, stasis, and usually thrombus formation. The injury to the vessel is followed sooner or later, according to the method employed, by plastic arteritis and permanent closure of the artery by fibrous tissue derived from elements furnished by the vessel wall, and by cicatrisation of the end of the cord. Ha:morrhage immediately following section of the cord suggests failure of the means employed to prevent it, or some error in operation. Secondary ha:morrhage, though less common since the advent of antiseptic methods, may be due to infection of the injured artery, with arrest of the process of repair; infection of the clot, which breaks down; insufficient blood supply to the obstructing tissue; violent straining; rough handling or restlessness of the patient; or, occasionally in old horses, disease of the vessel wall. 1 From the proceedings of the Ninth International Veterinary Congress at The Hague, September 1909.