Spirochaetosis affecting Fowl 103 



fowls in that State, and has demonstrated its transmission by 

 the common fowl-tick, Argas persicus. 



Through Dr. Brown, of the Agricultural Department, at the 

 request of the Minister for Agriculture, I received on 22nd 

 January a live fowl presenting the following definite symptoms : 

 — General dejection, somnolence, I'uffled feathers, pale comb, 

 slight diarrhoea and loss of appetite. Only four ecto-parasites 

 were to be found on the skin, these being apparently all larval 

 forms of a parasite of the Argas type, and were handed "fio 

 Dr. G. Sweet for identification. These Dr. Sweet has described 

 in this volume as belonging to a new species, A. victoriensis. 



Examination of blood smears made in the usual way fixed 

 in alcohol and stained w'ith Giemsa's stain, gentian violet, etc., 

 demonstrated considerable numbers of the characteristic spiro- 

 chaetae as described by Marchoux, Laveran and others. There 

 was also a marked increase in the nmber of eosinophile white 

 blood corpuscles. 



The spirochaetae increased in number till the time of death 

 5'6 hours after arrival. Post-mortem examination did not dis- 

 close any decided pathological change, and the spleen was not 

 enlarged. 



Enquiiy from Dr. Brown elicited the information that the 

 bird had been sent from a non-infected to an infected district, 

 and there exposed to the ticks only six days prior to being for- 

 warded to me, which indicates the rapidity of the infection. 



A live fowl was inoculated subcutaneously with five drops of 

 blood from the heart of the first fowl, a few minutes after 

 death. No swelling developed at the seat of inoculation. Spiro- 

 chaetes were found in the peripheral blood on the third day, 

 but only in one to every twenty fields of the microscope. On 

 the fourth and fifth days the numbers increased greatly, and 

 several could be seen in each field. On the sixth day, however, 

 extreuiely few could be detected, while subsequent!)^ none could 

 be seen. The animal remained in apparent health. The disap- 

 pearance occurred without any preliminary clumping, and no 

 intra-corpuscular bodies of Balfour's " after phase ' could ever 

 be determined. It should be also noted that careful examina- 

 tion of smears from various parts of the naturally affected fowl, 

 which died at the la])oratory, failed to reveal any bodies within 



