AX INVESTIGATION OF AN OUTBREAK OF SEPTICAEMIA IN POULTRY. 
457 
their condition was noticed. Later the disease seemed to assume 
a more chronic course, with deaths resulting in from one to 
several days after the first symptoms were noted. The affected 
birds seemed stupid or dejected. In most cases there was com¬ 
plete loss of appetite. Diarrhoea was common in all, at first scanty 
and later profuse and yellow. A few segregated themselves 
from the flock. All became weak and droopy, most of them 
lying down wherever they happened to be, and staggered when 
attempting to move. They gradually became weaker and then 
comatose, with death occurring while perched on roosts, lying 
on the ground or while in a droopy standing position. The 
mortality was about 90 per cent., the disease running unchecked 
until nearly the entire flock, consisting of 70 chickens and 12 tur¬ 
keys, died. The post mortem lesions in the turkey and chicken 
were those of septicaemia hemorrhagica. 
Microscopic Examinations—Examinations made of blood 
smears and hanging drops from the hearts of the chicken and 
turkey revealed the presence of motile and non-motile bacteria, 
varying in length from 1 u to 2 u. The examinations made from 
the livers disclosed the presence of several varieties of bacteria, 
as decomposition had set in. Agar plates were then inoculated 
with the heart blood and the organisms isolated in pure cultures 
and identified. The motile organism, owing to its ability to 
coagulate milk with the production of acid, and produce a profuse 
growth and fermentation of lactose-litmus agar, was designated 
as a variety of B. coli communis. The non-motile organisms 
belonged to the bacterium septicaemia hemorrhagica group. It 
showed bipolar staining and produced a faint membraneous 
growth upon bouillon which later became turbid, especially in 
the lower portions of the test tube. No change occurred when 
grown in litmus milk. The growth upon agar was slow, and 
upon lactose-litmus agar the growth was slightly alkaline and 
without the production of gas. All culture media was stand¬ 
ardized. 
Pathogenesis—Pure cultures of each organism were then 
injected subcutaneously into rabbits with the following results: 
