138 PARASITOLOGY. 



Animals Infested. — Principally young chickens, tur- 

 keys, pea fowls and wild game. 

 Parts Infested. — The trachea. 

 Disease Produced. — ^Gapes, syngamosis. 



Symptoms. — The worms, finding their way to the 

 trachea, attach themselves to the mucous membrane 

 by means of their buccal apparatus, and by means of 

 the six teeth they wound the mucous membrane and 

 suck the blood; the bird is noticed to open its mouth 

 frequently and gasp for air on account of the partial 

 occlusion of the air passage by the worms; wheez- 

 ing and coughing are also noted. Often the worms 

 may be expelled during a severe fit of coughing ; 

 the bird has a loss ot appetite, appears dull and 

 stands around with drooping wings ; finally when the 

 worms form sufficient bulk to occlude the lumen 

 of the trachea the animal, in its death struggle, is 

 observed to throw its head over the back and, gasp- 

 ing, dies of asphyxiation. 



Prophylaxis. — Moisture is necessary for the devel- 

 opment of the larva; if birds be kept on a board 

 floor until they are half grown the greatest danger 

 will be eliminated; the floors and runs should be 

 frequently sprinkled with a 1% solution of creolin or 

 carbolic acid. The drinking and feeding dishes 

 should be cleansed occasionally with antiseptic solu- 

 tion. The dead carcasses should be burned. 



Treatment. — A horse-hair doubled several times, 

 forming a loop, is often thrust down the bird's throat, 

 twisted several time and withdrawn ; the worms in 

 this way are removed. 



