FOWL TYPHOID, ITS DISSEMINATION AND CONTROL 1 
By B. F. Kaupp, Poultry Investigator and Pathologist , and R. S. Dearstyne 
North Carolina Agricultural 'Experiment Station 
INTRODUCTION 
The epiornithological problems in the control of diseases of birds closely paral¬ 
lel the epidemiological problems in human beings. Intensive production of 
poultry in recent years has increased the problems of disease control, close 
study applied to this subject in the past few years bringing out the fact that 
even the closest system of quarantine leaves unexplainable loopholes for the 
spread of contagious poultry diseases. 
Fowl typhoid undoubtedly stands out among the septicaemic diseases of the 
domestic fowl as a-particularly virulent contagion. It is distributed throughout 
the various countries of the world, recognized as a particularly virulent disease 
caused by the Bacterium sangumarvwm or gaUinarium (Eberthella sanguina- 
ria Moore), or, on the Continent, Klein’s bacillus. As far back as 1888, Klein, 
in England, made an investigation of this disease, with such concise work as to 
have this specific bacterium known by his name in Europe. In 1895, Moore in¬ 
vestigated the disease in the United States, calling it Infectious Leukemia of 
Fowls, and the causative organism the Bacterium sangmnarium. Since that 
time, the disease has been reported and investigated by various authorities. 
MORPHOLOGY 
The fowl typhoid bacterium is a short, thick rod, occurring singly or in pairs, 
measuring 1 to 2 microns by 0.5 micron; stains peripherally; nonspore forming; 
Gram-negative, staining readily with most stains but best with fuchsin; non- 
motile. 
CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS 
Growth on agar slant beaded, abundant, raised, smooth, opaque in 24 hours; 
agar colonies raised, entire, circular, and finely granular; optimum temperature 
S7i° C.; optimum acidity of medium P H 6.4, although the organism has a high 
tolerance to organic acids, suitable growth being obtained on agar acidified 
with formic, malic, and oxalic acids between the ranges of Ph 4.8 and P H 7.0; 
does not liquefy gelatin; nonchromogenic; heavy nitrate reduction in nitrate 
broth and on nitrate agar without gas; aerobic growth in glucose agar shake; 
slight production of hydrogen sulphid on surface of acetate agar; growth on 
potato fairly abundant and yellow-brown in color. There is a slight production 
in some instances of indol with the Salkowski test, but no reaction was obtained 
with the vanillin test, nor with Ehrlich’s method; slight diastatic reaction takes 
place on starch agar; over 50 strains studied in 16 carbohydrates and higher 
alcohols showed no gas production at 37$° C. for 5 days. Acid is produced in 
1 Accepted for publication Dec. 6, 1923. 
Journal of Agricultural Research. Vol. XXVIII, No. 1 
Washington, D. C. Apr-?. 1924 
Key No. N. C.-17 
( 75 ) 
