Experimental transmission of haemorrhagic enteritis of turkeys

Pathological and clinical studies were carried out on turkeys experimentally infected with a suspension of the spleen and intestine of birds spontaneously affected with haemorrhagic enteritis. Clinically the birds became depressed and developed a blood tinged diarrhoea. Histologically, the essential lesions were the formation of intranuclear inclusion bodies in reticuloendothelial cells and a lymphocytic reaction in many tissues. The inclusions appeared 3 to 6 d postinoculation. The lymphocytic reaction began 5 d postinoculation and persisted during the experimental period. The disease developed rapidly after a short period of incubation and the birds recovered quickly. The disease was also reproduced in uninoculated turkeys exposed by contact to the inoculated birds. The clinical and histological findings fin the experimental birds closely resemble those seen in naturally occurring cases of the disease.