Animal infectivity of Encephalitozoon cuniculi.

Rabbits, mice, rats and Rhesus monkeys were infected experimentally with a rabbit isolate of the mammalian microsporidan Encephalitozoon cuniculi. The lesions produced were typical of those occurring in spontaneous encephalitozoonosis in rabbits, mice, and rats, respectively. Viable E. cuniculi were recovered from tissues of injected animals with and without lesions. Titration of rabbit, mouse, and hamster isolates of E. cuniculi in mice and in rabbit choroid plexus cell cultures showed that the rabbit isolate was equally infectious for mice and cell cultures. Mouse and hamster isolates were less infectious for cell cultures than for mice. The results provide further evidence that the mouse, hamster, and rabbit isolates of E. cuniculi are identical.