ANNUAL REPORT, 1936 89 



grouse and Chinese ring-neck pheasants, which were being reared in captivity 

 by the Poultry Department, revealed that the cause of the mortality among 

 the former was apparently of a managerial nature. The majority of the losses 

 in ruffed grouse occurred within the first two weeks of age. 



Paratyphoid infection was encountered in a young pheasant flock on one of 

 the State game farms. Approximately two months after the outbreak, the sera 

 of the survivals were tested with an antigen prepared from the paratyphoid 

 organism and no reactors were detected. To date, no further signs of this 

 disease have been observed in the flock. 



4. Diagnostic Service. The number of cases diagnosed was 497, personal 

 delivery of specimens being made 279 times. The classification of 2,087 

 specimens follows: — 1,721 chickens, 143 turkeys, 49 pheasants, 26 ruffed 

 grouse, 15 swine, 4 fecal samples, 4 muskrats, 4 rabbits, 3 foxes, 2 each of feed, 

 pigeons, skunks, and one each of beet pulp, budgerigar, bovine, canine, cow's 

 liver, deer, goat, goose, horse blood, raccoon, rat, and tissue. The diseases 

 encountered most frequently were coccidiosis, pullorum disease, neoplasms, 

 "avian paralysis," parasitism, "epidemic tremor," and kidney disorders. So- 

 called "crazy chicks," which had not been observed in the previous two years, 

 were noted in 10 cases. Avian tuberculosis and fowl typhoid were not observed. 

 Fowl cholera was detected on two premises on one of which it had been diag- 

 nosed the previous year. Paratyphoid infection in chickens was encountered 

 once in pigeons and twice in turkeys. Two cases of pullorum disease in turkeys 

 were noted. 



Two diseases among turkeys not previously observed by this laboratory 

 were encountered during the past year. The one was "ulcerative enteritis," 

 which appeared similar to that observed in grouse and quail. This diagnosis 

 was confirmed through the courtesy of Doctor J. E. Shillinger and his co- 

 workers, Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D. C. The other disease was caused by an organism which re- 

 sembles Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, causative agent of swine erysipelas. 



5. Flock Mortality Studies. During the past year, mortality studies were 

 continued in one flock and started in another. Flock A — from 765 pullets 

 placed in the laying houses in September 1935, 47 birds were submitted for 

 necropsy during the laying year. These 47 birds represented 40 percent of the 

 total mortality. The disturbances diagnosed most frequently were reproductive 

 disorders 15, nephritis and visceral gout 8, neoplasms 5, and leukemia 4. Flock 

 B — since this flock has not completed its laying year, the results are incom- 

 plete and will be reported at a future time. 



6. "Epidemic Tremor" in Chicks. During the past year chicks were re- 

 ceived from 29 affected flocks in some of which mortalities were reported to be 

 greater than in outbreaks observed previously. In some cases, maximum losses 

 amounted to 50 percent of the chick flock. 



From 14 pullets which were survivals of naturally infected chicks received 

 in the spring of 1935, a total of 239 chicks were hatched. The majority of chicks 

 were held for observation up to six weeks of age or longer. None of the chicks 

 exhibited the symptom complex observed in "epidemic tremor," although a 

 few of the birds, as they became more mature, developed an eye condition which 

 has also been observed in naturally infected birds. The gross pathological 

 changes consisted of an apparent enlargement of j the eyeball, degenerative 

 changes in the lens (marked degree of opacity), and a seemingly fixed pupil. 

 Some birds appeared to be totally blind. Hatching experiments are being re- 

 peated with a group of pullets obtained as chicks in 1936. 



Attempts to transmit the disease artificially have been successful. The 



