EPITHELIOSIS INFECTIOSA AVIUM 



CONTAGIOUS EPITHELIOMA, CHICKEN POX, 

 DIPHTHERIA, ROUP, CANKER 



In the fall of 1910 our attention was called to this disease 

 owing to the number of birds that were presented for treatment 

 at the hospital. A large Rhode Island Red cockerel, which 

 the owner prized very highly, was brought in one day with the 

 request that everything possible be done to restore it to normal 

 condition. On examination the bird was found to have a 

 marked nasal discharge affecting both nostrils, croupous-diph- 

 theritic membranes in the oral cavity, particularly involving 

 the tongue, the throat, and at the commissures of the mouth. 

 The general condition of the patient was much disturbed; de- 

 pression, rough plumage, loss of appetite, some elevation of 

 temperature, etc. An autogenic vaccine was made from cul- 

 tures taken from the lesions and used as a curative agent, our 

 experience with other methods of treatment having proven 

 very unsatisfactory. Cultures were taken from beneath the 

 deposits and agar slopes inoculated. The cultures were allowed 

 to grow (about 36 hours) until a heavy growth appeared on 

 the surface of the agar and a vaccine made up in the regular 

 manner, standardized to a No. 7 nepholometer tube, and atten- 

 uated by heating to 55 deg. C. for one hour. One cubic centi- 

 meter of this vaccine was injected subcutaneously. Marked 

 improvement was noticeable. Another injection of the same 

 amount was made in four days. At this time the croupous mem- 

 branes were beginning to disappear and the nasal discharge 

 was less copious and the general condition much improved. 

 Complete recovery took place without further incident. The 

 results of this treatment were so satisfactory that this method 

 was tried on other roup patients in the hospital. The results 

 were uniformly good. As a result of these experiences a series 

 of experiments were begun, with the object of studying the 

 etiology of the disease and the value of the vaccine as a prophy- 

 lactic and curative agent. 



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