Twenty-four 3-5-mo-old battery-hatched bobwhite quail were inoculated
orally with 10(5) (ME 49 strain, group A, 6 birds), 10(4) (ME 49 strai
n, group B, 6 birds), 10(5) (GT-1 strain, group C, 6 birds), and 10(4)
(GT-1 strain, group D, 6 birds) Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. One quail
in group B died 18 days after inoculation (DAI) due to undetermined et
iology. Two quail from group C and 1 quail from group D given GT-1 ooc
ysts died of acute toxoplasmosis 6, 7, and 8 DAI, respectively; numero
us T. gondii tachyzoites were found in lesions in visceral tissues. Th
e surviving quail in group A and B were killed 106 DAI and those in gr
oups C and D were killed 60 DAI. Toxoplasma gandii was isolated from p
ooled tissues of 4 of 5 quail in group B. Brains, hearts, and skeletal
muscles from quail in groups A, C, and D were bioassayed individually
in mice; T. gondii was isolated from the brains of all 6, hearts of 3
, and skeletal muscles of 2 of the 6 quail in group A; from the brains
of all 4, hearts of 1, and skeletal muscles of 2 of the 4 quail in gr
oup C; and from the brains of all 5, hearts of 1, and skeletal muscles
of 3 of the 5 quail in group D. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies were fou
nd in sera of all 20 quail killed 60 or 106 DAI. Antibody titers detec
ted in the modified agglutination test using whole tachyzoites were hi
gher than in latex agglutination and indirect hemagglutination tests t
hat used soluble antigens. Antibodies were not detected in a 1:4 dilut
ion of 19 of 20 quail sera in the Sabin-Feldman dye test.