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Encephalitozoon cuniculi Infection: Microsporidiosis

Although rare in contemporary mouse colonies, Ence- phalitozoon cuniculi was common in laboratory mice in the 1950s and 1960s. It is likely to be common in pet and fancy mice. This agent infects a wide variety of species, including humans.

Natural infection in mice has been associated with granulomatous hepatitis, interstitial nephritis, and meningoencephalitis, as well as ascites in cortisonized animals. Immunodeficient mice develop ascites and chronic wasting. In immunodeficient mice, organisms are readily apparent in brain, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, adrenals, kidneys, pancreas, intestine, and serosa. Spores are Gram-positive, which facilitates diag­nosis (see rabbit Chapter 6, "Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection”). Additional microsporidia that are infectious to humans have been detected in feces of wild mice, including Enterocytozoon bieneusi and E. hellem, under­scoring the lack of species specificity of these agents, and the potential risk to immunosuppressed humans in contact with wild, pet, and laboratory mice.

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Source: Barthold Stephen W., Griffey Stephen M., Percy Dean H.. Pathology of Laboratory Rodents and Rabbits. 4th Edition. — Wiley-Blackwell,2016. — 384 p.. 2016
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