CHAPTER V 
FOWL TYPHOID AND SIMILAR INFECTIONS 
FOWL TYPHOID 
Synonym. Hiihner typhus (German). 
Characterization. Fowl typhoid is a specific infectious disease 
of fowls, having the general characteristics of a septicemia and is 
caused by Bacterium sanguinarium (Bacillus gallinarum). 
History. The disease seems to have been first described by Klein 
in England in 1889 under the name of infectious enteritis of fowls. 
The organism was designated by him, Bacillus gallinarum. Had- 
ley states that a culture of this organism has been preserved since 
its isolation by Klein, and that a study recently made by him re- 
veals the organism to be identical with Bacterium sanguinarium. 
The disease and its causative agent were described by Moore in 
1895. Other outbreaks in the United States have been described by 
Dawson, Curtice and by Taylor. 
Pfeiler and Rehse observed the same disease in 1912, gave it the 
name “ Hiihner typhus,” and described the organism under the name 
Bacterium typhi gallinarum alcalifaciens. A second outbreak oc- 
curring in 1915 has been described by Pfeiler and Roepke. 
Etiology. The characteristics of the organism are described by 
Moore as follows: 
“Morphology. Bacterium sanguinarium varies somewhat in size ac- 
cording to the medium in which it has developed. In tissues of fowls or 
rabbits it is from 1.2 to 1.8 microns long and from 1 to 1.3 microns broad. 
The ends are tapering or rounded in cultures; in the short forms it could 
easily be mistaken for a micrococcus. In tissue it frequently appears in 
small clumps, but usually in pairs united end to end. Spores or vacuoles 
have not been discovered. Involution forms are common. In cultures on 
agar it is more slender than in tissues. When examined in a hanging 
drop preparation, especially at the edge, it frequently shows a marked 
polar arrangement of the cellular protoplasm. In these preparations there 
is observed a marked dancing motion of the organism. In old bouillon 
cultures short chains composed of these organisms united end to end are 
sometimes observed. 
“ Staining. It stains with the aniline dyes ordinarily used, but retains 
the coloring matter very feebly, or not at all, when treated after the Gram 
method. 
50 
