VETERINARY SCIENCE AND PRACTICE. 10^9 



Apoplectiform septicaemia in chickens, V. A. XoK(i.\AHD luid J. K. Mohlkr 

 ( r. N. lki>t. A(jr., Bureau of Animal Indu^^lri/ liul. 36, pp. 24, ph- 4).— An acute and 

 fatal t-hicken disease occurred ou a farm in Virginia and cauf-ed the death of about 

 200 l)irds. The authors made post-mortem examinations on thickens whidi had 

 died of the disease. Hemorrhages were found in tiie sul)cutaneous and nniscniar 

 tissue. .V blood-colored exudation was found in the body cavity. The Hvit was 

 enlarged and covered with a iilastic exudate. The meninges of the brain were 

 injected with blood and the cerebral ventricles contained a large amount of diccol- 

 ored serum. Pullets seemed to be most sui^ceptible, hens next, and roosters and 

 capons least. The disease in the latter assumed a less acute form. The period of 

 incubation was not definitely determined, but the interval between infection and 

 death appeared to be from 24 to 4S hours. In many cases death occurred so sud- 

 denly that the preliminary symptoms were not observed. Where the course of the 

 disease was longer the feathers became ruftled and the bird exhibited a state of 

 extreme depression. Affected fowls lay down au<l died without a struggle. A specific 

 micrococcus in the form of a streptococcus was isolated and cultures of the organ- 

 ism were made. It is aerobic or facultatively anaerobic. It grows both on solid and 

 liquid media, growth being most rapid at a temperature of 37° C. Detailed notes: 

 are given on the behavior of the organism upon various culture media. Exposure of 

 the organism for 11 minutes to a temperature of 60° C. is fatal, but growth occurs: 

 after a 10-minute exposure to this temperature. Cultures were sterilize<l by expo- 

 sure of 4 minutes to a temperature of 70° C. Cultures were also sterilized by drying; 

 over night in an incubator. The organism was destroyed by an exposure for 30 sec- 

 onds in a 2.5 per cent solution of carbolic acid, for 2 minutes in a 1 per cent solution- 

 of carbolic acid, for 1 minute in a solution of corrosive sublimate in the proportion 

 of 1 to 2,000, for 4 minutes in a 1 per cent solution of creolin, or for 2 minutes in a 

 0.25 per cent solution of formalin. 



Inoculation experiments were made on various animals. An intravenous injec- 

 tion of 0.1 to 0.5 cc. ])Ouillon culture 24 hours old produced the disease in ciiii-kens 

 and caused death in from 48 hours to 4 days. Intramuscular inoculations in chicken.'? 

 produced no effect. Feeding virulent cultures produced death in from 4 to 13 days. 

 Chickens fed on the viscera of rabbits which had succumbed to the disease died in 

 10 days. Intravenous injections in ducks produced death on the twelfth day, but 

 subcutaneous or intramuscular injections as well as feeding on virulent material pro- 

 duced no effect. Intravenous inoculations produced death in pigeons, but intramus- 

 cular i noculations were negative. In rabbits fatal effects were produced by i n t ravenous 

 or intrapleural inoculations. Inoculation in the body cavity of white or gray mice 

 l)roved fatal in about 48 hours. Experiments with dogs showed that inoculation in 

 the.se animals produced a lameness but not fatal effects. Sheep and guinea pigs 

 appeared to be completely refractory. It was fountl by further experiments that 

 immunity to the di-sease may l)e produced in suscejitible animals by tlie use of the 

 filtrate of bouillon cultures, sterilized bouillon cultures, or serum from artilicially 

 immunized animals. 



Bacteriolog-ical studies on the bacteria of the alimentary tract of chickens, 

 R. R.\HXER ( < hitbl. Bald. u. Par., I. Aht., 30 {1901), No. 6, pp. ^'3!>-^^4)-—i'he i)urpo8e- 

 of the investigation reported on in this article was to secure evidence on the question; 

 (jf the effect of various bacteria in the alimentary tract of chickens. It was found 

 that the species of bacteria and the relative prevalence of different species variedi 

 exceedingly according to the amount and nature of the food from which chickens 

 fed. The only species of bacteria which is considered by the author as constantly 

 present in the alimentary tract of chickens is Baderium coli. When other bacteria 

 are present in large nund)ers, this species may temporarily lose its importance, but 

 after a short time it rapidly multiplies .so as to regain its usual importance.. 



