The Wilmington morning star., 1946-03-11

nurirg the past lew years d Ae1d-
.. D%T new poultry disease, called
tlVel ,yn,oencephalitis at that time,
os r1ecognized in California. More
was atIv, this so-called disease was
r ,eeeorerd to be the Newcastle dis
dls.O, ,,5,ich was seen in the Dutch
ease indies and in England in 1926.
ba's ,on the disease is common in
BY y, (5TH and Europe and is grad
a fnT spreading in the United
S'S pecentlv it has been discovered
hs 1,orai northeastern states and
in Ss exists as far south as
proua1oo-n3d No definite diagnosis of
Ma nay been made in North Caro-
i n'i hut quite probably due to the
llna, .endous transportation of poul-
tfeii md the fact that North Caro-
ny ny, G is an importing state, the dis
llna iii soon make its appearance
Nv Caused By Virus
.ccording to H. c: Gauger, Re-
t a. Associate Professor of Poul-
ssai Nth the N. C. Agricultural Ex-
ay ;n won Station, the disease is
pps s,r bv virus and affects both
cause a and old chickens. Turkeys,
y y,oEs geese, guinea fowls, par
r ur,Aj and wild birds are also sus-
iors In chicks losses are
rep' heavy, but in adults the
uS @rtsiitv is usually very slight but
I Ill., U.s. Is a sudden drop in egg pro-
l l1otion and birds do not generally
o oaos hack into production for at
1 Iv two months. When they do
l oon,e into production, eggs are
ttran,lently Of abnormal shape and
INV are without hard shells. In
i snros narts of the world the agent
s sousin = the disease affects birds
5ifferently and according to some
r rs losses in adult reach 100
per cent.
symptoms
SYMPTOMS of the disease will
varv, depending on several factors
sucb as age Of the chickens,
method metz by which they become in
factpd amount of the injecting
d,se, and the severity of the dis
e sase in the infected birds. In gen.
eral Gauger says these character
;stic symptoms are noted: dullness,
General weakness, rough features,
iroopy tail, a rising temperature.
hose greenish to yellow droppings,
difention of the crop with foul
food and gas, mucous discharge
tOm the nostrils, and a collection
Of mucous in the mouth.
In the more long-drawn out cases
variety of nervous symptoms
NAV be present. Leg and wing
weakness which progresses to de-
finite paralysis is quite common.
The head may be drawn back or
down under the breast. An S.
shaped distortion or double twist
in the neck, walking in circles. and
twisting the head have also been
observed.
Acute Infection
Internal examination Of dead
birds shows a variety of abnor-
malities which will vary depend
ing on whether the bird has died of
acute infection or whether it has
lived long enough to reach a subac-
ture stage of the disease. Common
finding are mucous in the mouth
and hemorrhage in the lining men,
branes of the digestion tract, es-
pecially the lining Of the glandular
stomach and between the gizzard
muscles and the inside horny lining
Of the gizzard.
No curative measures are known
for Newcastle disease. However,
it is possible that vaccination OF
susceptible birds in an infected
area may prove valuable as a con-
troll measure. At present, poultry
disease specialists in those states
where the disease is known to exist
are planning to vaccinate a limited
number of birds so that they can
test it under field conditions.
Be On Watch
In the meantime, poultrymen in
North Carolina should be on the
watch for this disease and report
suspected outbreaks to the Veteri-
nary Division of the North Carolina
Department of Agriculture or to
the Poultry Department, North
Carolina State College.
The producer should remember
That there are many common dis