<S16 Journal of the Department op Agriculture. 



appetite, hut thirst is increased; they also appear dull, droop their 

 heads, and stand about in a listless manner. Associated with these 

 symptoms is diarrhoea, whicli, as mentioned above, is the most note- 

 worthy feature of the disease. 



In the chronic form a progressive anaemic condition is seen ; the 

 featherless parts are pale, the growth of the bird is slow, and there 

 may eA^en be a paralysis of both limbs. The bird stands in a dejected 

 manner, the head droops, the eyes half close, the comb has a Ijluish 

 tinge, the feathers are ruffled, and gait is difhcult. There may be 

 alternately constipation and diarrhoea, and, finally, death results from 

 sheer weakness. The so-called "leg-weakness" is often due to 

 coccidiosis. 



POST-MOETEM AprEARANCES. 



In acute cases there is often nothing abnormal to be seen except 

 in the caeca (blind gut) which, one or both, are sometimes affected, 

 and may become distended to about double the normal size. On 

 opening, the contents are seen to consist of offensive smelling, yellow, 

 pasty-looking material. The mucous membrane shows inflammation, 

 which may be so severe that there has been shedding of the epithelial 

 lining. The inflammation is usually in patchy areas, but it may also 

 be diffused; the former, however, is the more usual. The remainder 

 of the large intestine down to the cloaca may even be affected in this 

 manner. 



The duodenum is described by some authors as being the main 

 seat of the pathological changes, but in outbreaks observed in the 

 Cape Peninsula it is the caeca that show the most pronounced inflam- 

 matory changes. 



When there has been diarrhoea the feathers in the region of the 

 cloacal opening* will naturally show adhering fsecal matter, either 

 white or yellowish-green in colour. 



In clironic cases the carcass is generally emaciated and anaemic. 

 The inflammatory changes are all present except that they are chronic ; 

 the mucous membrane is greatly thickened and may sometimes show 

 white spots, which are heaped-up masses of coccidia and epithelial 

 cells. In some cases the liver becomes infected, showing white spots, 

 which are made up of coccidia r4nd liver cells. 



Differential Diagatosis. 



Fowl Cholera is, perhaps, the chief disease which may be 

 confounded with coccidiosis, as the onset and course of both maladies, 

 in the acute form, are somewhat similar. Microscopic examination, 

 however, differentiates the two, for cholera is due to an ovoid 

 bacterium which can be demonstrated in the blood by staining. In 

 the chronic form, which is seldom met with in fowl cholera, the joints 

 of one or both legs may become swollen, and these cases are often 

 confused with tuberculosis or gout of the joints. 



Treatment. 



Curative or medicinal is, in acvte stages, unsatisfactoiy. In 

 chronic cases the ideal treatment would be the administration of some 

 of the coal-tar derivatives. Naphthalin or its derivatives alpha- and 

 beta-naphthol, on account of their insolubility, are the most promising, 



