122 



POULTRY DISEASES 



pullorum was isolated from various internal organs, as well as from 

 chicks hatclLed from the neighbor's eggs. 



Retger, Hull and Sturges report three fowls out of twelve dying 

 following feeding boullion cultures of the Bacterium pullorum. 

 These cultures were fed along with the regular mash. The Bac- 

 terium pullorum was isolated from the liver, lungs, heart and spleen. 

 T'hey attributed death to these organisms. 



Smith and Ten Broeck report that bacterium-free filtrates of 

 ^ve to fifteen day old bouillon cultures of Bacterium pullorum 

 were decidedly toxic to full grown rabbits when given by intraven- 

 ous injections. Death followed within two hours, or there was 

 marked dyspnea, followed by death over night or by loss of weight 

 find subsequent recovery. 



Fig. 52. Section Through Cecum 

 (Magnified 100 Times). 



From a chick that had died of 

 coccidian white diarrhea. A, mus- 

 cular layer; B, remnant of gland; 

 C, degenerated disintegrating mass. 

 There is complete destruction of 

 the mucous membrane. 



Fig. 53. Section "B" in Fig. 

 (Magnified 900 Times). 



Shows various stages of the Coc- 

 cidium tenellum. A, oocyst; B, 

 sporoblast, first stage; C, sporozoit, 

 first stage; D, schizont, merozoites 

 within, surrounded by a disinte- 

 grating cell mass; E, polymorpho- 

 nuclear leukocyte. 



Gauge reports that rabbits are very susceptible to very small 

 doses of the Bacterium pullorum by subcutaneous injections. 



Retger, Hull and Sturges in a summary of their work state that 

 eggs that harbor Bacterium pullorum in the yolk in large numbers 

 may produce abnormal conditions, when fed, not only in young 

 chicks, but in adult fowls, young rabbits, guinea pigs and kittens. 



When infected eggs are allowed to remain under the hen in nests 

 for a considerable time or in warm rooms during storage and in 

 transit, these bacteria rapidly increase in numbers. In a poultry 

 survey as to the prevalence of bacillary carriers among hens, it 

 was found in Connecticut that out of 107 flocks subjected to the 

 agglutination tests, 1,417 out of 13,831 fowls reacted; that is 10.24 

 per cent gave positive reactions and of the flocks 74 per cent were 

 infected. In ^Massachusetts more than 50 per cent in some flocks 

 reacted. 



