An Apparently New Disease of Chickens: Avian Nephrosis

INCE the fall of 1957, in the Delmarva area, we have seen an acute disease of chickens with increasing frequency. This malady, which appears to be infectious and contagious, is characterized by ruffled feathers, watery diarrhea, trembling, and severe prostration. It seems to spread from pen to pen within a poultry house, and tends to recur in successive broods. The initial outbreaks occurred in and around an area known as Gumboro, in southern Delaware; hence, the common name of Gumboro disease. The term avian nephrosis has been applied to this new disease because of the tubular degenerative lesions in the kidneys. Specific characteristic signs and lesions set off the condition as a definite entity.