EXPERIMENTAL TOXOPLASMOSIS IN PHEASANTS (PHASIANUS-COLCHICUS)

Sixteen 6-mo-old battery-reared ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colch icus) were inoculated orally with 10(5) (group A, ME 49 strain, five b irds), 10(4) (group B, ME 49 strain, six birds) and 10(4) (group C, GT -1 strain, five birds) Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. The pheasants in gro ups A and B remained clinically normal. One of the pheasants in group C died 19 days after inoculation (DAI); T. gondii was found in histolo gical sections of brain and heart and encephalitis, myocarditis and en teritis were the main lesions. Toxoplasma gondii was isolated by bioas says from pooled tissues of five of six pheasants in group B killed 36 DAI. Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from the brains, hearts and skele tal muscles of each of the four pheasants inoculated with the GT-1 str ain (group C), and from the brains of four, hearts of three and skelet al muscles of four of five pheasants inoculated with the ME 49 strain (group A). All pheasants developed high (I: 1,600-1:25,600) antibody t iters to T. gondii in the modified agglutination test (MAT) 36 to 68 D AI. Antibody titers detected with the MAT were higher than those detec ted in the indirect hemagglutination. and latex agglutination tests. A ntibodies were not detected in 1:4 dilution of pheasant sera with the Sabin-Feldman dye test.