ORIGINAL ARTICLES
STUDIES ON THE DIPHTHERITIC FORM OF FOWL-POX
IN INDIA
BY
R. L. KAURA, B.V.Sc., M.R.C.V.S.,
Assistant Serologist,
AND
S. GANAPATHY IYER, G.M.V.C.,
Veterinary Inspector,
Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Muktesar
[Received for publication on 14th May, 1936]
(With Plates XX & XXI)
INTRODUCTION
Fowl-pox is a contagious disease of birds due to a filtrable virus
and is characterised by the appearance of wart-like nodules on the head and
cheesy diphtheritic membranes in the buccal cavity with or without oculo-nasal
discharge. One or all of the above lesions may be present in the same bird.
At the instigation of this Institute in 1934, specimens in the form of dried
crusts from suspected cases of fowl-pox, have been received from various parts
of India for confirmation, and this has enabled the writers to study the disease.
As detailed in Table I, so far 22 specimens have been received, out of which
15 were found positive to fowl-pox, and of these, three received from the Madras
Presidency gave rise to the development of diphtheritic lesions in the buccal
cavity in addition to the cutaneous lesions, on subinoculation over the feather
follicles of healthy fowls. Advantage was taken of this opportunity to study
this diphtheritic condition in some detail.
A review of the past literature shows that the nomenclature of this disease
has been rather confusing. Each lesion appears to have been named separately
and amongst other names we have chicken-pox, contagious epithelioma, canker,
avian diphtheria, and roup, although it is now known that these conditions are
only different manifestations of the same disease determined by one and the
same virus.
(313)