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Title: EXPERIMENTAL TOXOPLASMOSIS IN JAPANESE QUAIL

Author
item DUBEY JITENDER P - 1265-55-00
item GOODWIN M A - UNIV OF GEORGIA
item RUFF MICHAEL D - 1265-40-00
item KWOK OLIVER C H - 1265-55-00
item SHEN SAMUEL K - 1265-55-00
item Wilkins, Gary
item THULLIEZ P - INSTITUT DE PUERICULTURE

Submitted to: Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/13/1994
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Infection by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is widely prevalent in animals and man. Birds and rodents are important hosts of T. gondii because they serve as source of T. gondii infection for cats. Cats excrete the environmentally resistant T. gondii oocysts in their feces after ingesting tissue cysts of T. gondii from infected animals. Toxoplasma infection in ground feeding birds is also a good indicator of T. gondii infection in the soil because of their eating habits. Nothing is known of diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in Japanese quail. Scientists at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center have developed a serologic test for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in Japanese quail. The results will be helpful in the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in Japanese quail and other avian species.

Technical Abstract: Twenty-four 5-month-old battery hatched Japanese quail were inoculated orally with 100,000 (ME 49 strain, group A, 6 birds), 1000 (ME 49 strain, group B, 6 birds), 100,000 (GT-1 strain, group C, 6 birds), and 1000 (GT-1 strain, group D, 6 birds) Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. All birds in group C died or were euthanatized 6 days after inoculation (DAI). Five of the 6 birds in group D died or were euthanatized 8, 9, 1, 19, and 23 DAI. One of the 6 quail in group A died 9 DAI and 1 of the 6 birds in group D died 15 DAI. The 11 quail (1 from group D and 10 from groups A and B) were euthanatized 63 DAI; T. gondii was isolated by bioassays in mice from the brains of 10, hearts of 10, and skeletal muscles of all 11 quail. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies were found in the sera of all quail examined 63 DAI. Antibody titers to T. gondii in the modified agglutination test were higher than in the indirect hemagglutination and latex agglutination tests. Antibodies were not detected in quail sera examined by the Sabin-Feldman dye test.