COCCIDIOSIS 131 
Course of the disease. The coccidium when once introduced into 
a flock develops rapidly in the cells of the intestinal mucosa, giving 
rise to a great number of sexual and asexual forms which are passed 
out in the droppings and are ingested by healthy birds. Accumu- 
lation of infected droppings naturally tends to increase the number 
of these organisms ingested and results in gross infection. Where 
fairly good sanitary conditions are maintained, the spread of the 
disease is less general and the amount of infectious material con- 
sumed is proportionally lessened. As a result, birds which have a 
degree of normal resistance are protected against heavy infection. 
Symptoms. The outward manifestations of coccidiosis depend 
to a considerable degree upon the age of the birds attacked. In 
young chicks, the disease develops rapidly and the mortality is high. 
The affected ones display the usual appearance associated with de- 
bilitating internal disorders, such as weakness, disordered feathers, 
droopy wings, bunched appearance, loss of appetite, and somnolence. 
The droppings are semi-fluid and usually whitish in color, but may 
be of a fluid nature with brownish tinge. In very acute cases in 
young chicks the droppings are deeply stained with blood. Affected 
chicks of an age of three weeks or less to two months seldom survive 
in a severe outbreak and those that recover are stunted and worthless. 
Chicks affected fatally succumb in from one to several days after out- 
ward symptoms are apparent, depending upon their age. The older 
ones show a stronger resistance, but in these too, the fatalities are 
extremely heavy. 
In grown fowls, the disease usually assumes a more chronic type, 
although acute outbreaks are not infrequent. In these acute out- 
-breaks, the affected birds show the droopy appearance which is more 
or less characteristic of all infectious diseases of fowls, and which, 
in itself, has comparatively little value as a diagnostic feature. In 
semi-acute cases, the fowl develops a progressively increasing list- 
lessness and loss of activity. The comb becomes pale and periods of 
dejection, during which the bird stands in an isolated posttion, in- 
crease as the disease progresses. The appetite may remain normal 
and is frequently ravenous when the fowl is aroused at feeding time. 
During intervals between regular feeding, there is little effort to 
scratch for food with the others of the flock. The symptoms may be 
apparent for from one to three weeks, death occurring quite sud- 
denly or after a short period of coma. In the more chronic form, 
the fowl retains a pale appearance of the comb and wattles for 
several weeks, the appetite appears normal while the bird is eating, 
