BACILLARY WHITE DIARRHEA 73 
Aspergillosis is comparatively rare in young chicks. Its charac- 
teristic growth may be found in the air passages, and the mycelia, 
or spores of the fungus can be observed by microscopic study of the 
moldy growth. 
Treatment. Attempts to cure bacillary white diarrhea are fu- 
tile. Some recover, owing to natural resistance, or other reasons. 
The so-called treatments recommended by some advisers are not to 
be relied upon. Once the disease has become established in the sys- 
tem, the causative microorganisms are distributed through the vari- 
ous organs by way of the blood stream and a septicemia has developed 
which is beyond the reach of any antiseptic treatment which has yet 
been discovered. By careful nursing, certain individuals might be 
assisted in surviving; however, this is inadvisable because of the fact 
that the monetary value of the baby chick does not justify the ex- 
penditure of the time devoted to its treatment. Furthermore, the 
fact that those which recover are likely to serve as reservoirs for the 
causative organisms and constitute the sources of future outbreaks 
would speak against the policy of treatment. 
Where the disease is known to exist in a flock of breeding fowls 
and is anticipated in the hatch of baby chicks, precautions may be 
taken to lessen its attack by advanced treatment of the chicks. Per- 
manganate of potash may be placed in the drinking water in sufficient 
quantity to give the latter a deep red color. This corresponds to dilu- 
tion of approximately 1 to 10,000. In such dilution, the antiseptic is 
non-irritating to the sensitive mucous membranes of the chick and 
may serve to inhibit the growth of the pullorum bacterium in contami- 
nated drinking water, and in the digestive tract of the chicks. But- 
termilk may be used as a food, as it combats the development of 
the bacterium in the intestine, due to the lactic acid which it 
carries. 
Prevention. The first principle of prevention is the eradication 
of carriers in the breeding stock, or the use of eggs for hatching 
which come from flocks known to be free of pullorum infection. 
Certain tests which are later discussed may be depended upon to 
detect the presence of the disease in a large percentage, if not all, 
of the infected hens of a flock. These birds may be discarded for 
breeding purposes or disposed of as the owner may desire. In this 
connection, it has come to our attention indirectly that in rare in- 
stances normal hatches have succeeded ones in which high mortality 
has occurred, the eggs in each case being derived from flocks in which 
a number of infected hens have been detected but retained as breeders. 
