Experimentally induced necrotic enteritis in chickens.

A 1.3 to 10% incidence of necrotic enteritis was experimentally produced in broiler-type chickens in three of five trials. The incidence range observed was considerably narrower and lower than the 5.6-37.3% range reported in the literature. Clostridium perfringens was inconsistently isolated from the liver and intestine of dosed chickens.

Frenkelia sp.-like infection in the small intestine of a red-tailed hawk.

Developmental stages of a Frenkelia sp.-like coccidium were observed in tissue sections of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of a naturally infected red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis borealis) that died and was examined at necropsy. Developmental stages were located in the lamina propria of these tissues. Thirty sporulated sporocysts measured 11.1 X 8.1 microns in tissue sections. Four sporozoites were present in each sporulated sporocyst. The coccidial infection was not a contributing factor in the death of this red-tailed hawk.

Prevalence of Alcaligenes faecalis in North Carolina broiler flocks and its relationship to respiratory disease.

In order to assess the role of Alcaligenes faecalis in respiratory disease of broilers, a study was conducted to determine the prevalence of this bacterium in North Carolina broilers and to determine the relationship of A. faecalis infection to clinical disease. Our studies showed that A. faecalis is prevalent in North Carolina commercial broilers during the winter months. Bacteriological examination of turbinates and tracheas revealed that almost 40% of individual birds between 35 and 45 days of age yielded positive cultures; 62% of tested flocks were infected. When present, A. faecalis was usually the predominant bacterium isolated. Furthermore, because of a higher frequency of A. faecalis isolation in broiler flocks with respiratory disease (75% vs. 29% in flocks without respiratory diseases), these studies suggest a causal relationship between this bacterium and clinical respiratory disease.