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Protozoal Infections

Mice may be host to several marginally pathogenic intestinal protozoa, including several species of Eimeria, Cryptosporidium muris, C. parvum, C. tyzzeri, Giardia muris, and S. muris.

Under some circumstances, they may become opportunistic pathogens. Tritrichomonas muris, Tritrichomonas minuta, Trichomonas wenyoni, Octo- mitus pulcher, Chilomastix bettencourti, Entamoeba muris, and others inhabit the intestine of laboratory mice but are not pathogens. Impressive numbers of T. muris and/ or T. minuta may be present in the intestinal lumen, with no lesions (Fig. 1.85). Other coccidians, including Klossiella muris and Sarcocystis muris, are rare in labora­tory mice. Wild mice are frequent intermediate hosts for Toxoplasma gondii, but Toxoplasma infections in labora­tory mice are essentially nonexistent, since it requires cats as the definitive host. Nevertheless, it is important to expect the unexpected in mouse pathology, as Sarcocystis muris, which also requires cats as the definitive host, has appeared in recent decades among 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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