An Outbreak of Toxoplasmosis in an Ontario Chinchilla Herd.

An outbreak of toxoplasmosis which killed 44 of a herd of 56 chinchillas and produced 4 abortions with the loss of a total of five fetuses is reported. A wild mouse thought to be the house mouse (Mus musculus), caught in a trap in the basement housing the chinchillas, was found to be infected with Toxoplasma gondii. The suggestion is made of the existence of a reservoir of infestation in wildlife with wild rodents implicated in this case as possible transmitters of the disease. The post mortem findings, histopathological, serological, and bacteriological results of work done on 6 dead and two live chinchillas and the wild mouse are also reported. A brief review of the literature dealing with toxoplasmosis in this species (Chinchilla lanigera) is presented.