UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
.Tf^w BULLETIN No. 517 
^lv*<S>^fi^ Contribution from the Bureau of Anima! Industry ^ 
A. D. MELVIN, Chief 
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER February 16, 1917 
AN INTRADERMAL TEST FOR BACTERIUM PULLORUM 
INFECTION IN FOWLS. 
By Akchibald R. Waud and Beenaed A. Gallaghee, Pathological Division. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. I Page. 
Dissemination of infection in VN'Mte Comparison of results of agglutina- 
diarrhea 1 ! ^'^on and intradermal tests 12 
The agglutination test 2 
Experimental work 2 
Tests of artificially infected birds 2 
Field trials of the intradermal 
tests 10 
Significance of swelling as an indi- 
cation of reaction 13 
Various biologic tests 14 
Summary and conclusions 14 
DISSEMINATION OF INFECTION IN WHITE DIARRHEA. 
Of the numerous diseases to which poultry are susceptible it is safe 
to say that bacillary white diarrhea is by far the most widespread 
and most destructive. Its ravages are confined principally to baby 
chicks, but it is the puilorum infection in the hen which is directly 
responsible for outbreaks of white diarrhea in the chicks, since a 
certain percentage of her eggs hatch infected chicks and the excre- 
tions of these spread the disease to the other birds in the brood. 
The exceedingh^ high mortality of white diarrhea, amounting in 
some cases to almost 100 per cent of the hatch, practically prevents the 
rearing of chicks in infected flocks. The disease is contracted dur- 
ing the first four days of life, and deaths occur as a rule during the 
first month. It has been demonstrated conclusively by several in- 
A'estigators that chicks which recover ma}^ carrj^ the causative bac- 
terium in the ovary and serve as a source of infection in the future. 
Infected hens usually exhibit an ovary containing several angular, 
hard, discolored ova ; however, the organ may continue to func- 
tionate and from time to time an ovum is released which harbors the 
infective agent. Outbreaks of white diarrhea as a result of con- 
XoTE. — This bulletin is a report on a study of a disease of fowls that is quite de- 
structive, and should be serviceable to those who are interested in poultry and poultry 
diseases. 
72248°— Bull. 517 17 
