pullorum disease

6.8

A sickness caused by germs that spreads easily among young chickens, causing white diarrhea and many deaths

noun
/ˈpʌlərəm dɪˈziːz/

Specialized

: enfermedad pullorum

The veterinarian diagnosed the flock with pullorum disease after several chicks showed signs of white diarrhea.

Examples

Good biosecurity measures can help prevent pullorum disease in poultry farms.
Many young chicks died last year because of an outbreak of pullorum disease.
Don't ignore the signs of pullorum disease!
The outbreak of pullorum disease devastated the poultry farm.
The veterinarian diagnosed the flock with pullorum disease after several chicks showed signs of white diarrhea.
Many young chicks died last year because of an outbreak of pullorum disease.
Good biosecurity measures can help prevent pullorum disease in poultry farms.

Synonyms

bacillary white diarrhea

vspullorum disease

Specialized

9.8

A serious bacterial infection in young chickens that causes white diarrhea and many deaths

names a specific bacterium as cause rather than only symptoms

Surface Forms

pullorum disease singular

pullorum diseases plural

Morphology

pullorum + disease

Knowing only the constituents does not yield the specific meaning: while 'disease' signals an illness, 'pullorum' is a taxonomic/Latin term (not a transparent English word) and gives no obvious clue to a B1 learner that this is a Salmonella infection of young chickens. Because the key identifying element is specialized jargon and not compositionally interpretable, the expression is opaque to learners.

Etymology

Pullorum disease is named after the bacteria Salmonella pullorum, and pullorum comes from the old Latin word pullus, which means 'young bird' or 'chick'. So the name literally points to a disease of young chickens and helps explain why it mainly affects baby chicks.