LAKSHMI SAHAI 351
been established. It must, however, be admitted that the greater incidence
of the disease at this time of the year may be explained on other grounds as
well.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
In the foregoing, an account has been given of an outbreak of equine
encephalomyelitis among the Mounted Military Police horses at Jamshedpur
in the year 1936-37 supported by brief references to another outbreak in
1937-38, and of the steps taken to establish a diagnosis. The possibility of a
virus, of vegetable poisoning and of mineral imbalance in the causation of the
condition has been discussed but the results have either been wholly negative
or not sufficiently definite to justify one in pronouncing a definite opinion.
Certain points of resemblance between this outbreak and those at Multan and
in Kashmir have been stressed. At the same time attention has been drawn
to the important points of difference between them, such as the absence of a
definite pyrexial phase in the outbreaks in this Province, the almost negative
results of transmission experiments, and the disappointing results obtained
with hexamine treatment which was reported to have given good results in
the Multan and Kashmir outbreaks, especially in the latter. It is not improb-
able that the encephalomyelitis occurring in this Province is not a virus malady
at all, but one due to some other cause.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Thanks are due to the Director, the Imperial Veterinary Research Insti-
tute, Mukteswar, for much help in the laboratory side of this investigation.
REFERENCES
Kak, Prem Nath (1937). An outbreak of Equine Encephalomyelitis. Ind. Vety.
J. 14, 11-15.
Maclister, G. H. K. (1917). ' Kumri ' Combined Diffuse Sclerosis and Central
Poliomyelitis of Horses. Mem. Dept. Agri. Ind. Vet. Ser, Vol. 8, No. II.
Mosley, H. S., Heane, C. W. and Shirlaw, J. F. (1934). Incidence of Equine
Encephalomyelitis in an Indian Cavalry Regiment. J. Roy. Army.
Vet. Cor. 6, 159-172.