Observation on the Occurrence of Fowl Cholera in California.

The occurrence of fowl cholera in the United States was first reported by Salmon1 in 1880. This is the first recorded study of any infectious disease of poultry in this country. The next mention of the disease was in 1902, when Curtice reported an outbreak of “goose septicaemia”. Two years later Ward reported investigations of outbreaks of fowl cholera in California. The major portion of subsequent investigation of fowl cholera has been made by Hadley2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, at the Rhode Island Station, although several other investigators including Mack and Records10, Gallagher11, and Van Es and Martin12, have made some study of it. In nearly all writings on this subject the disease is described as an acute infectious disease caused by Bact. avisepticum and resulting in severe losses when it occurs in any flock. The isolation of the causative organism from the body of a dead bird is considered sufficient for a diagnosis.