EXPERIMENTAL TOXOPLASMOSIS IN JAPANESE-QUAIL

Twenty-four 5-month-old battery-hatched Japanese quail were inoculated orally with 10(5) (ME 49 strain, group A, 6 birds), 10(3) (ME 49 stra in, group B, 6 birds), 10(5) (GT-1 strain, group C, 6 birds), and 10(3 ) (GT-1 strain, group D, 6 birds) Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. All birds in group C died or were euthanized within 8 days after inoculation (D AI). Five of the 6 birds in group D died or were euthanized 8, 9, 15, 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 16 DAI. The 11 quail (1 from group D and 10 f rom groups A and B) were euthanized 63 DAI; T. gondii was isolated by bioassays in m ice from the brains of 10, hearts of 10, and skeletal m uscles of all 11 quail. Quail that survived marked small intestinal an d splenic toxoplasmosis lived long enough to develop severe protozoal pneumonia, myocarditis, or meningoencephalitis. The quail that survive d only to be examined at 63 DAI had moderate multifocal nonpurulent en cephalitis and myositis and had a hypertrophic spleen that contained h emosiderin-laden macrophages. Taxoplasma 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 h emagglutination and latex agglutination tests. Antibodies were not det ected in quail sera examined by the Sabin-Feldman dye test.