bluecomb

English

Etymology

From blue +‎ comb.

Noun

bluecomb (uncountable)

1. (neologism) Coronaviral enteritis in turkeys.

   Synonym: mud fever

   • [1954, B. S. Pomeroy, “Bluecomb disease of turkeys.”, in Proceedings 90th Annu. Meet. Amer. vet. med. Ass., page 321:

     "Blue comb disease" affected turkeys of all ages. In the authors' experience, mortality was 25-50% in young poults and 5-25% in "range" turkeys.]

   • 1971, Agriculture Handbook, number 393, page 60:

     The highly contagious disease bluecomb, also called transmissible enteritis and mud fever, affects the intestinal tract of turkeys of all ages, including breeding stock.

   • 1973, AE Ritchie, “Electron microscopy of coronavirus-like particles characteristic of turkey bluecomb disease”, in Avian Diseases, volume 17, number 3, page 546:

     Particles morphologically similar to coronaviruses were found in bluecomb-infected turkey ceca, the bursa of Fabricius, and embryo intestines, but not in the same tissues of uninfected controls.