Bacillary white diarrhœa (B.W.D.) : B. pullorum isolated from sparrows / by T.Dalling, J.H. Mason and W.S. Gordon.

  • Dalling, Thomas.
Date:
[1928?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Bacillary white diarrhœa (B.W.D.) : B. pullorum isolated from sparrows / by T.Dalling, J.H. Mason and W.S. Gordon. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    TIio K©printed frcti V'eteilriary , .occrd, April, B8 tlx, 1920 Bacillary White Diarrhoea (B.W.D.). B. pu/lorum Isolated from Sparrows. By T. Dalling, J. H. Mason and W. S. Gordon, Langley Court, Beckenham, Kent. We have, without success, searched the literature on Bacillary White Diarrhcea of Chicks for any record of B. pullorum, the accepted cause of B.W.D., in any animal except the domestic fowl. In fact, one writer (1) states— “ we have examined several thousand birds and find the organism to be confined to the ordinary fowl.” During the present hatching season we have been in touch with many poultry farmers on whose behalf we have examined many hundreds of young chicks, and we have isolated B. pullorum from 71.6 per cent. A poultry farmer, from whose young chicks B. pullorum was isolated, sent us a sparrow which was caught in the chicken run in which the chicks had succumbed to B.W.D. The bird showed evidence of diarrhcea. From its liver B. pullorum was isolated. The organism was typical in every respect ; the carbohydrate fermentation reactions were similar to those found when using cultures of typical B. pullorum, and it was agglutinated by B. pullorum agglutinating serum. Broth cultures of the organism were fed to two day-old chicks which developed typical B.W.D., and B. pullorum was isolated from their livers. Control chicks fed with broth remained healthy. By the courtesy of the Scientific Poultry Breeders’ Association, we have been able to obtain sparrows from several poultry farmers whose chicks have been affected with B.W.D.—the sparrows having been, caught in the chicken runs. From two sparrows so received, typical B. pullorum, responding to the above tests, has been isolated. These findings open up the question of a further source of infection of chicks with B.W.D. References. (1) Rice, J. P., National Veterinary Medical Association, Annual Report, 1926, p. 62.