March, 1954] S. DATTA 7
(b) Goat virus is highly antigenic and would be good for the bulk of cattle
living in the plains of India. But it would prove too severe for
certain other breeds as well as for buffaloes and sheep and goats.
(c) The lapinised vaccine, very satisfactory in all other ways, would be
much more expensive to produce if all vaccinations are to be carried
out with it and it may entail breeding of large numbers of rabbits,
free of disease and the proposition would not be economical. It
would be possible, however, to produce adequate quantities of lapinised
vaccine, sufficient to deal with buffaloes and certain types of cattle
more susceptible to the disease and which cannot be vaccinated by
the goat-adapted vaccine.
(d) Lapinised goat-reactor virus has to be ruled out at the present moment
on account of the extremely low titres obtained with it and unless
further work shows that the titre can be stepped up to an economic
level.
(e) Avianised virus, though extremely cheap, has not been tried in this
country and until the nature and duration of immunity conferred
by its use in the various species and different breeds of animals can
be determined, it would not be wise to adopt it for a countrywide
campaign.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The research so far has given definite indications of the great potentialities
of both the goat virus and the lapinised vaccine each in their respective sphere
as valuable agents for use in field campaign for the eradication of rinderpest. The
time is now ripe for giving effect to the eradication plan and how best to do so
should now be possible to be worked out by the Central Rinderpest Eradication
Committee proposed below.
Our recommendations in the light of the above discussion are as follows :
1. To adopt freeze-dried goat-adapted virus vaccine for the immunisation
of all plains cattle. The vaccine should be produced at Izatnagar
and at other few suitably-equipped regional laboratories giving due
regard to its purity, safety, potency and keeping quality. To ensure
its potency, proper storage facilities must be provided at each depot
where the vaccine may have to be stored.
2. To use lapinised vaccine for all hill, European and European grade cattle,
buffaloes, and sheep and goats.
3. The campaign may be divided, if required, into two phases, viz.
Phase I.—To vaccinate all cattle and buffaloes.
Phase II.—For vaccination of all sheep, goats and other species, as
well as the progeny of cattle and buffaloes that would
have come into being in the meantime.
Where facilities exist, the two phases may even be taken up simultaneonsly.
4. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research scheme now functioning at
the Indian Veterinary Research Institute on the lapinised virus
should in order to ensure an effective and safe product reaching the