Agricultural Science Digest

Vol. 9, May - June, 1967	PURDUE UNIVERSITY

STARLINGS TRANSMIT
AVIAN TUBERCULOSIS

Purdue veterinarians and State Regula-
tory officials recently studied starlings as
possible carriers of avian tuberculosis.
This study was triggered by the discovery of
40 slaughtered hogs with lesions of tubercu-
losis in a slaughter house in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. These animals were traced to an Indiana farm where the hogs were farrow-
ed and reared.

Upon observation of this farm, starlings
swarmed about the farmyard and buildings.
Feces from these birds had accumulated on
the walls and floors of the buildings, but the
sanitation and management of the swine were
| otherwise good.

Two more hogs from this farm were
slaughtered and were found to be infected
with avian, or fowl type tubercle bacilli.
I There was no poultry in this farm for the
past eight years but chickens were present
on an adjacent farm half a mile away. Tuber-
culosis had been observed in this flock sev-
eral months earlier. One of the remaining
chickens was affected extensively upon exam-
ination.

125 starlings were shot on the farm and
examined for tuberculosis. Of this number
7 were found to have the disease. This is
the first recognition of tuberculosis in star-
lings in the United States.

However, the veterinarians suggest that
the starlings may have contracted the infec-
tion from the nearby poultry. It was also
held probable that the tubercle bacilli could
have been introduced into the swine on the

farm through the feces shed by tuberculous
starlings.

This recognition of starlings as carriers
of an infectious disease of poultry, swine
and cattle increases greatly the nuisance of
this bird. Aside from avian tuberculosis,
starlings have been associated with New-
castle disease, transmissible gastroenteri-
tis in swine and possibly histoplasmosis of
various animals and man. The starlings’
capacity to transmit diseases to animals is
facilitated by their easy entry into buildings,
close association with farm livestock in ob-
taining food and voidance of feces in livestock
feeds, buildings and equipment. At present
starlings have the greatest population of any
bird species in the United States, with esti-
mates ranging from 100 to 200 million.

Journal Paper 2757, A. A. Bickford,
G. H. Ellis, & H. E. Moses, Dept, of Veter-
inary, Microbiology, Pathology and Public
Health.

PIGS SUGGESTED FOR
INTESTINAL DISEASE STUDIES

Transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) is a
virus-induced diarrheal disease of swine. It
is characterized by the growth of the virus
in the small intestine causing rapid and ex-
tensive damage to the villi resulting in diar-
rhea, dehydration and death in a high percent-
age of piglets.

Purdue scientists say that several fea-
tures of TGE in swine including its reproduci-
bility, readily demonstrable pathology and

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE