BACTERIUM PULLORUM INFECTION IN FOWL. 63 



Hadley (1) concludes from his studies on the colon-tj'phoid intermediates 

 that in carbohydrate media used known types of Bact. pullonmi, B. 

 gaUinarum, B. avisepticus, B. paratyphosus A and B, manifest definite 

 fermentative differences which justify regarding them as distinct species. 

 Since paratyphoid A does not ferment xylose, a close relationship is shown 

 between the types from poultry (puUorum and gallinarum) and para- 

 typhoid B. The data presented indicate that puUorum is much less active 

 than gallinarum on xylose. Aside from gas production there is a closer 

 fermentative relation between B. gallinarum and the paratyphoids than 

 between Bact. puUorum and the paratyphoids; this is due to the fact that 

 puUorum is maltose-dextrine-dulcite negative. Hadley also finds that all 

 the maltose-dextrine-dulcite negative strains isolated from chicks have 

 been aerogenic, while all of the maltose-dextrine-dulcite negative strains 

 isolated from adult birds were anaerogenic. The author has been able to 

 isolate from the eggs of fowls experiencing infections with the maltose- 

 dextrine-dulcite negative anaerogenic strains both aerogenic and anaero- 

 genic forms. The gas production may vary quantitatively within wide 

 limits. The writer has found that no one of the many original aerogenic 

 pullorum strains, cultivated for years in artificial media, has lost its 

 aerogenic power when placed under favorable conditions for growth; and 

 none (either pullorum or gallinaruui) that originally lacked this power 

 ever attained it. According to these data one may conclude that if a 

 strain, possessing otherwise the characteristics of pullorum or of galli- 

 narum, is aerogenic it is not B. gaUinarum, while if it is anaerogenic it 

 may be either Bact. pullorum B or B. gaUinarum. This indicates that it 

 is necessary to make use of the maltose-dextrine-dulcite fermentation 

 tests only when the strain in question is anaerogenic. In another paper 

 (9) this same author concludes from his data that gas production by 

 Bact. puUorum may depend upon whether the cultures are grown in glucose 

 extract or glucose infusion broth. Propagating cultures for many years 

 on artificial media does not cause them to lose their gas-producing 

 ability. Bact. pullorum isolated from epidemics of bacillary white diar- 

 rhoea in young chicks or from infected eggs is aerogenic; there exist also 

 anaerogenic strains which, in all the cases in which they have been ob- 

 served, have been isolated from adult fowls experiencing acute or subacute 

 infections simulating fowl typhoid in both clinical symptoms and patho- 

 logical alterations of tissues. Therefore the writer proposes tentatively 

 to postulate for Bact. pullorum: (1) Bad. puUorum A, aerogenic; and 

 Bad. pullorum B, anaerogenic, pathogenic for adult stock only. 



Hadley (10) suggests that Bact. pullorum appears to stand as a border- 

 line group in the colon-typhoid intermediates, separating the actual para- 

 typhoids from the actual paracolons; and further suggests that, in order 

 to facilitate bringing about some degree of order in the group of colon- 

 typhoid intermediates, gas-forming strains be referred to the paracolon 

 group which should be revived; and that anaerogenic forms only be re- 

 ferred to the paratyphoid group, in which B. gallinarum (Klein) might 

 stand as the type species. 



