ABSTRACTS

    The coccidiostatic effect of sulfaguanidine (sulfanilyl guanidine). P. P. LEVINE
                                  (1941). Cornell. Vet. 31, 107-12

IN this article the author has described the results of his preliminary experiments on
the coccidiostatic effect of sulfaguanidine on coccidia of fowls. It is indicated that
this drug, when used in concentration as low as ½ per cent of the mash, prevented
infection of chickens with E. praecox, E. mitis, E. maxima and E. hagani. When admi-
nistered, in 1 per cent concentration in the feed, sulfaguanidine was found to be effective
in markedly reducing the severity of coecal lesions due to E. tenella, and 1½
per cent concentration was found effective against E. necatrix. It is, however,
stated that this drug had no curative effect on chickens which were already infected with
E. tenella and E. necatrix. In the opinion of the author, this chemical agent holds promise
as a coccidiostatic agent for the control of all types of coccidiosis. [H. N. R.]

The value and relative effectiveness of preparations of rotenone, derris powder
          and cube powder as larvicides for cattle grubs. C. E. SMITH, ELMER
        LIVENGOOD and IRWIN H. ROBERTS (1941). J. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc.
                                                  99, 391-4

THE experiments described in this paper were carried out in Colarado and in Missouri
1 during 1938-40, the two powders mentioned in the title being derived from the roots
of Derris elliptica and Lonchocarpus nicou respectively. In Colarado, the cattle grub
(Hypoderma lineatum) remains in the subdermal tissues about 30 days before dropping
off and entering the pupal stage. The treatment of a particular group of animals was
therefore, undertaken about 30 days after the appearance of first grub holes in that group,
the object being to extend ' the period of the effectiveness of larvicidal wash over a
greater portion of the grub season '. The wash was prepared by dissolving 4 oz. of laundry
soap in one gallon of water heated to 100°F. and then adding the powder (or rotenone) to
the solution. The liquid, while warm, was applied to the tumours from pint jars provided
with perforated lids, the wash being worked into the hair coat by means of stiff-fibre scrub
brushes. Each group of animals was treated once. They were examined three to five days
after treatment and subsequent examinations were made every two or three weeks until
all grubs had dropped off from the control cattle. A total of 67 animals were treated with
rotenone, 219 with derris powder and 119 with cube powder, while 76 animals were kept
as controls. The results showed that chemically pure rotenone was inferior, as a larvicide
against H. lineatum, to either derris powder or cube powder and that powders classed as
containing 4 per cent rotenone were as effective as those with a rotenone content of 5
per cent. Derris and cube were found to be equally effective, the minimum requirement
for a dependable wash being 12 oz. of either powder to a gallon of water. [S. K. S.]

    Sporadic bovine encephalomyelitis (Buss disease). S. H. MCNUTT and E. F.
                              WALLER (1940). Cornell. Vet. 30, 437

SEVERAL forms of encephalitis have been reported in the bovine species. Rabies,
Aujoszky's disease, listerellosis and malignant catarrhal fever, all cause symptoms of
encephalitis. Turning sickness in Uganda is caused by a protozoa (a Thieleria sp.)
In this article the authors describe yet another form of encephalitis due to a hitherto
unreported infective agent.

Relatively few animals are affected with sporadic bovine encephalomyelitis at any
one time. Only young cattle under three years of age are observed to get naturally
infected.

Calves have been artificially infected, either by the subcutaneous or intracranial
inoculation of infective material. The incubation period ranges from 4 to 27 days. There
is a pronounced fever which persists throughout the course of the disease, until it be-
comes subnormal just before death. The main nervous symptom is a pronounced de-
pression which develops gradually. Sometimes the affected animal falls down. Turn-
ing, rubbing or excitability is never observed. A slight diarrhoea and a moderate dis-
charge from the nostrils and eyes may be noticed. The course of the disease extends
from one to three weeks. Death results in 40 to 70 per cent of cases. Those which recover
return,to normal temperature in a couple of days after inoculation.

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