SYMPIvECTOPTES CYSTICOI.A. I^AMINOSIOPTES GAL- 

 I.INARUM. (Megnin). ACARUS OF THE CONNEC- 

 TIVE TISSUE OF BIRDS. 



Connective tissue acarus : Body more than twice as long as broad, witli 

 median transverse furrow ; eight legs, very short, thick. Habitat : Con- 

 nective tissue, gallinacese, on skin in epidermic concretions ; death of aca- 

 rus causes calcified miliary nodule. When present in great numbers, cause 

 numerous caseous centres, anaemia, wasting. Treatment : Unsatisfactory ; 

 best to raise new flock from the eggs on fresh ground. 



Body oblong, more than twice as long as broad, gray, several 

 pairs of dorsal and ventral bristles and oije long pair on the pos- 

 terior extremity, rostrum short and thick as in the sarcoptes ; a 

 transverse furrow separates the anterior from the posterior part of 

 the body, and the skin has fine transverse striae. The eight legs 

 are very short and thick, the two posterior ones terminated by 

 suckers. Male 20 mm. long ; female 25 mm. 



Habitat. These have been found in large numbers in the 

 connective tissue, especially the subcutaneous, in the gallinacese 

 (hens, pheasants, turkeys). Rivolta has found them abundantly 

 on the surface and in the substance of the skin causing dandruff 

 and squama. From this they are supposed to extend into the 

 loose connective tissue in the neck, chest, belly, flanks and thighs. 

 When one acarus dies it causes a miliary nodule which tends to 

 early calcification, and hence miliary cretifactions are common 

 lesions in this affection. The live acari are sometimes present in 

 large numbers in plump, vigorous fowls, yet Rivolta has noted an 

 advancing marasmus in those that were badly infested and that 

 had numerous caseous centres in the skin, subcutaneous tissues, 

 muscles and abdomen. Old and wasted birds suffer mo.st. 



Treatment is very troublesome and unsatisfactory. The ordi- 

 nary acaricides may be used to destroy the mites in the skin, the 

 buildings, roosts, nests, and yards should be thoroughly cleansed 

 and treated with the same class of agents, and all affected birds 

 should be removed from the general stock. The raising of a new 

 flock, from eggs set in incubators, and on fresh uncontaminated 

 ground will prove the most effectual measure. 

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