Definition

Noun: A serious, infectious bacterial disease affecting young chickens and other poultry, caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum. It is characterized by severe diarrhea, high mortality rates in chicks, and can cause significant economic losses in poultry farming.

Usage

This term is used specifically in veterinary medicine, poultry science, and agriculture to describe this particular illness. - It is a technical term and is not commonly used in everyday conversation. - It is typically used in its full form, "pullorum disease."

Examples

• The entire flock was quarantined after an outbreak of pullorum disease.
• Vaccination and strict biosecurity are essential to prevent pullorum disease in hatcheries.
• The veterinarian diagnosed the high chick mortality as pullorum disease.

Advanced Usage

• The disease is also historically known as bacillary white diarrhea, referring to its symptom of white, pasty feces in infected chicks.
• The causative agent, , is named after the disease.

Variants and Related Words

• Pullorum (noun): Often used as shorthand for the bacterium () or, by extension, the disease itself in professional contexts.
  • The samples tested positive for Pullorum.
• Bacillary White Diarrhea (BWD) (noun): An older, descriptive synonym for pullorum disease.

Synonyms

• Bacillary white diarrhea (n)
• Pullorum infection (n)

Notes

• There are no common idioms or phrasal verbs associated with this highly specific technical term.
• The disease is primarily of concern in commercial poultry operations and is a focus of eradication programs in many countries.

Noun

1. a serious bacterial disease of young chickens