ETIOLOGY 115 



^ 103. Etiology. Moore isolated and described a patho- 

 genic bacterium which he designated Bacterium sanguinarium. 

 With this organism the disease has been produced in healthy 

 fowls both by feeding cultures and by 

 intravenous injections. Its etiological 

 relation to the disease is, therefore, 

 quite clearly established. It is possi- 

 ble that certain accompanying condi- 

 tions may be necessary in conjunction 

 with the organism to cause the dis- 

 ease to spread rapidly in a flock. 



Experimentally it did not spread from _ . , 



, . , ,■ , , r 1 N , , , I^IG. 15. A clump ofBac- 



diseased (inoculated or fed) to healthy ^^^,-„„, sanguinarium in 



fowls when kept in the same yard. a blood space in the liver 



(much enlarged). 



§ 104. Symptoms. From the 

 statement of the owners of the diseased fowls in the different 

 outbreaks and from the appearance of those in which the dis- 

 ease was artificially produced, little can be positively stated 

 concerning the early symptoms. There is a pronounced anemic 

 condition of the mucosa of the head. An examination of the 

 blood shows a marked diminution in the number of red corpus- 

 cles and an increase in the number of white ones. In the dis- 

 ease produced artificially by feeding cultures of the specific 

 organism there are, in most cases, a marked drowsiness and 

 general debility manifested from one to four days before death 

 occurs. The period during which the prostration continues 

 varies from a few hours to two days. The mucous membranes 

 and skin about the head become pale. There is an elevation of 

 from I to 4 degrees in temperature. The fever is of a contin- 

 uous type, as shown in the appended temperature chart of two 

 fowls in which the disease was produced artificially. 



Although the course of the disease in different fowls is 

 usually constant, there are many variations. The time 

 required for fatal results is from three to fifteen days, but ordi- 

 narily death occurs in about eight days after feeding the cul- 

 tures. The rise in temperature can be detected about the third 



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