2 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 14S. 



source of infection, transmitting the organism from the ovary to the 

 eggs. 



Jones, in his reports of 1910' and 191 1,^ again supports the work of 

 Rettger and Stoneburn, and also finds that the local disease in the ovary 

 of adult fowls may be produced by the intravenous injections of Bacte- 

 rium pidloruni. 



From these reports it can be seen that the problem now consists in 

 methods of determining the presence of the virus in adult hens. From 

 examination of eggs it has been almost impossible to make a diagnosis 

 of this infection within a short time, since Bacterium pullorum is eliminated 

 so irregularly that it is necessary, often, to examine all eggs laid by a sus- 

 pected hen over a long period. 



Jones ' suggested the use of an agglutination similar to that used in 

 the diagnosis of glanders and contagious abortion for detecting ovarian 

 infection, and in a later paper * has given an excellent example of the value 

 of the macroscopic agglutination test for detecting individuals harboring 

 B. pullorum. 



It is the object of this paper to present the results of the work con- 

 ducted in the investigational laboratory of the department of veterinary 

 science concerning the diagnosis of this ovarian infection in adult hens 

 by egg analysis and by macroscopic agglutination tests, together with 

 data which have been obtained concerning the various factors which must 

 be considered in making the tests. It shall also serve to demonstrate the 

 practicability of these tests as a routine laboratory procedure, the work 

 having been performed in many respects by three different technicians. 



The subjects used for these experiments were all suspected of harboring 

 the virus of Bacterium pullorum. The organism had been detected in the 

 yolk of eggs from hens Nos. 267, 792, 452, 714 and 464 prior to their arrival 

 at the laboratory. Hens Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 18, 22, 34, 35, 46, 

 48, 49, 52, 53, 60, 61, 77, 312, 315, 618 and 2096 were all suspects. Hens 

 Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 18, 22, 48, 52 and 53 had been inoculated 

 intravenously with 1 c.c. of a bouillon suspension of a culture of Bacterium 

 pullorum^ known according to the filing-denotation of Bacterium pul- 

 lorum in this laboratory as M., which had been isolated from the ovaries 

 of a white Orpington pullet, and proven absolutely to be capable of pro- 

 ducing the disease in young chicks. Hens Nos. 34, 35, 46, 49, 60, 61, 

 77, 312, 315, 618 and 2096 had been closely associated with hens which 

 had received the intravenous injection, but, so far as the author has been 

 able to ascertain, only for a short time. Since the data on these last 



1 Jones, F. S.: "Fatal septecemia or bacillary white diarrhcBa in young chickens." Annual 

 Report of the New York State Veterinary College for 1910, pp. 111-129. 



2 Jones, F. S.: "Further studies on bacillary white diarrhoea in young chickens." Report, 

 New York State Veterinary College, 1910-11, pp. 69-88. 



3 Jones, F. S.: Report, New York State Veterinary College for 1910-11, p. 76. 



* Jones, F. S.: " The value of the macroscopic agglutination test in detecting fowls that are 

 harboring Bad. pullorum." Journal Medical Research, Vol. XXVII., No. 4; N. S., Vol. XXII., 

 No. 4, pp. 485^95. 



' Gage: "Notes on ovarian infection with Bacterium pullorum in the domestic fow 1." Journal 

 Medical Research, Vol. XXIV., No. 5; N. S., Vol. XIX., No. 3, p. 493. 



