164 



The Treatment and Prevention of Sore- 

 Head, or Chicken Pox, by Means 

 of Vaccination. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Every poultry raiser in this Territory is familiar with the sores 

 and tumors on the comb and wattles, and diphtheritic exudations 

 in the eyes, nostrils and mouths of chickens, which characterize 

 this disease. It is, therefore, not necessary here to discuss its 

 nature or cause beyond stating that it is a highly contagious dis- 

 ease affecting chickens, turkeys and pigeons, and, to a much less 

 extent, water fowl and guinea hens. \\^hen once the disease 

 gains entrance to a flock it spreads quickly and since the infection 

 is very resistant to disinfectants, it is difficult to eradicate it. The 

 need for the immediate isolation of all diseased fowls from the 

 flock, the removal and burning of all dead fowls, and the clean- 

 ing and disinfecting of the houses and yards, is apparent. 



TREATMENT. 



The usual manner of treating sore-head is by removing the 

 scabs or crusts as soon as they form, and then apply to the raw 

 surface various chemical disinfectants, such as silver nitrate, 

 copper sulphate, permanganate of potash or tincture of iodine. 

 When the disease is of a mild form, and the birds fully grown 

 and strong, this treatment at times serves to check it, but in most 

 cases it is of doubtful value. It is, therefore, of great interest 

 to all poultry raisers and fanciers that a new method of treatment 

 has been found which seems to be very promising, both as a pre- 

 ventive and a cure. This treatment was first suggested in 1910 

 by a German scientist (^lanteufelj, but it was not until Ameri- 

 can investigators (Hadley and Beach, 1913; W. B. Mack, 1915, 

 and J. R. Beach, 1915) had devoted much time and study to its 

 development and standardization that the present method of pre- 

 ventive vaccination has been evolved. 



PREVENTIVE VACCINATION. 



The principle of this treatment consists in the preparation of a 

 vaccine from the crusts and scabs which form on the comb and 

 wattles of the affected birds, and the injection of this vaccine be- 

 neath the skin of both affected and exposed birds. The method 

 of preparation is very simple and can be undertaken by anyone 

 who is in possession of a good dairy thermometer and under- 

 stands the first principles of absolute cleanliness. But as many 



