Open AccessAn Unidentified Sporozoan Encephalomyelitis in Sheep
Author(s) -
W. J. Hartley,
WF Blakemore
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
veterinary pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.794
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1544-2217
pISSN - 0300-9858
DOI - 10.1177/030098587401100101
Subject(s) - conoid , biology , central nervous system , organelle , encephalomyelitis , parasite hosting , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , anatomy , world wide web , computer science
Severe encephalomyelitis with myelomalacia in two young sheep was associated with an unidentified sporozoan parasite that was passing through a schizogonic cycle in astrocytes. Mature merozoites were 5-7 μm in length, had a conoid, subpellicular micro-tubules, paired organelles and many micronemes. Their morphology is compared with that of Toxoplasma and other related sporozoans. The apparent absence of gametogony suggests that the schizogonic cycle in the central nervous system could be an aberrant dead-end cycle.