SPIliOCH^TOSIS OF SUDANESE FOWLS 
57 
Case III. — Fowl K. Young healthy bird. 
December '26th. Inoculated, as noted, with negative results, with post-critical blood of 
Fowl I. 
January 1st, 1908. Again inoculated with blood of Fowl I. containing spirochetes both 
free and intra-corpuscular. 
January ith. Found infected with free forms of spirochete only. 
January iith. No free spirochetes could he found, but in one tilni two undoubted 
intra-corpuscular forms were found. Bird seemed well. Weight, 940 grams. Tempera¬ 
ture, 107-7° F. 
January 1th. Neither form of spirochete found to-day, despite a long search and heavy 
staining. 
January Hth. Temperature 108-6° F. Very interesting specimens. In the fresh blood, 
at room temperature, a spirochete was seen to enter a corpuscle, hut the formation of the 
intra-corpuscular form was not observed. 
In fresh blood, kept in the thermostat at the fowl’s temperature, a spirochete was 
distinctly seen coiled up at one end of a corpuscle and evidently in the (irocess of forming one 
of the endo-globular bodies. The spirochetes had therefore recurred. 
A well marked ribbon form, with chromatin dots, a break in the middle and filiform 
e.xtreniities was seen. There were numerous “ tangles ” in which the chromatin dots in the 
central cores were very evident. 
January 9th. The appearances were the same. 5 c.c. of citrated blood were inoculated into 
(a) Fowl Ij, which appeared to be healthy. 
On January Wth this bird showed a few intra-corpuscular forms, but as it had never 
shown spirochaetes it is probable that the bird had not been a clean one, i e. had been 
recovering from a spirochiete infection, and that the bodies had been missed. This shows one 
of the difficulties attending the work in a place where, though the disease is common, the 
infection may be very slight, especially towards recovery from the “ after phase.” 
Fowl K never became very ill. It had the disease in a mild form, though it presented 
a good many intra-corpuscular forms in its blood. Nothing of special note was observed till 
January 16th, when a great diminution in the number of the bodies was found. This 
continued. On 
January 26th, scarcely any could be found. Weight 820 grams. By 
yiarch 22nii, the liird had liecome strong and well, and weighed 995 grams. On 
April 16th, it was again inoculated with the blood of a fowl suffering from severe acute 
spirochaetosis, but it proved immune, although on one occasion—on April 20th—a single intra- 
corpuscular form was noticed. 
As it is far more common to get birds in the “ after phase ” than when they have 
spirochsetes in the blood, and as the latter condition can, as mentioned, be readily prevented and 
cured, experiments were begun to find if the exhibition of ‘Orsudan’ could save birds suffering 
from a severe “after phase.” Unfortunately the work, which had not advanced very far, 
was interrupted by the fire, and there is no use detailing the few cases treated. One point 
only may be mentioned, that the ‘Orsudan’ seemed to stimulate the leucocytes to phagocytic 
action, for what seemed to be intra-corpuscular forms were found in the mononuclears. 
Mention has been made of a similar condition in geese. I believe it is due to the same 
spirochaete. At least the disease runs a similar course, though in goslings tender feert and 
paresis or paralysis of the legs is a marked symptom. We know that geese can be infected 
with Sj). gallinarum, and the fact that geese, after showing free spirochsetes in the l)lood, 
exhibited the same intra-corpuscular bodies as the fowls, heliJed me to the ultimate diagnosis. 
One is inclined to doubt the existence of a special Sp. anscrina, and it is worth noting 
Treatment of 
“ after phase ” 
The disease 
in geese 
