TECHE"ICAL BULLETIN No. 5. 



DEPARTMENT OF VETERINARY SCIENCE. 



CONCERNING THE DIAGNOSIS OF BACTERIUM 

 PULLORUM INFECTION IN THE DOMESTIC 

 FOWL. 



BY GEORGE EDWARD GAGE. 



During the years 1916, 1917, 1919 and 1920 special studies have been 

 conducted in this department concerning the diagnosis of Bad. pidlorum 

 infection in chicks and adult birds. The object in view has been to de- 

 termine factors which aid in accuracy of diagnosis. Therefore the plan 

 here is to set forth the data obtained which may be of some value in sub- 

 stantiating the work of others, and to add any data from experimental 

 studies and routine which may assist those who have to do with the 

 puUorum problem. 



Among the points to be considered by the laboratory and field worker 

 in the Bad. pulloruni problem, the following are of interest: — 



1. Are there a Bacterium pullorum A and a Bacterium pullorum B? 



2. Can infections with Bacterium pullorum and Bacterium, sanguinarium be 

 differentiated? 



3. Is Bacterium sanguinarium (fowl typhoid) widely distributed in Massachu- 

 setts? 



4. Is it necessary to submit suspicious Bacterium pullorum cultures to biochemical 

 tests before a diagnosis is justified? 



5. Is either Bacterium pullorum or Bacterium sanguinarium related to the so- 

 called "paralysis" so widely distributed at certain periods of the year in Massa- 

 chusetts? 



6. Is Bacterium sanguinarium of any significance as the cause of epidemic disease 

 in very young chicks? 



7. What is the present status of the specificity of the agglutination test as a 

 means of control of Bacterium pullorum infection in young chicks? 



Historical. 



The presence of cholera-like or typhoid-like epidemics in domestic birds 

 dates back manj'- years, but careful study extends only from the last 

 quarter of a century. For a most excellent historical r6sum6 of these 

 studies from 1789 to 1913, the reader is referred to Hadley (1). 



Since 1913 several investigators have added much to our knowledge 

 concerning the biology of Bad. pullorum. Smith and Ten Broeck (2), 



