VIBRIONIC ENTERITIS IN CALVES

An intestinal disorder of calves has been described. The clinical manifestations are usually observed in calves 2 or more weeks old. Our experiments indicate that infection may take place relatively early in life and may for a time produce only a mild reaction, but as the disease becomes more chronic the clinical manifestations become more pronounced. The anterior portion of the jejunum is the primary locus of infection but in more chronic cases practically the whole small intestine may be involved. Vibrios were cultivated from the inflamed intestinal mucosa in both the acute and more chronic spontaneous cases. Vibrios were also obtained from the acutely involved intestine of young calves experimentally exposed to natural infection. On three occasions similar vibrios were found in cultures from the liver. When a single strain of vibrios which had been under cultivation for 3 months was fed to a young calf subclinical infection was produced and the organism recovered. This strain after three passages on media when fed to a calf produced a severe inflammation of the jejunum and ileum and from these areas the organism was recovered.