K. F. MEYER 631 



spinal cord. The same disease of rabbits has been observed by OUver' and Twort.^ In 

 attempts to reproduce encephalitis lethargica and herpes, Doerr and Zdansky (1923)'' 

 saw the protozoan-like parasite which occurred in the inoculated and in the un- 

 inoculated animals, and they thought that the bodies were probably parasites re- 

 sponsible for a disease of rabbits which was being confused with encephalitis leth- 

 argica. Later in the year Levaditi, Nicolau, and Schoen^ also recognized the organism 

 as the cause of an encephalitis of rabbits which had no connection with the human 

 disease. They have given a complete review of the subject and a detailed description 

 of the organism to which they gave the name of Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Further- 

 more, Levaditi and his associates were able to inoculate the parasite in rabbits, rats, 

 mice, and dogs, and they demonstrated the infectivity of the urine. Since then excel- 

 lent descriptions have been given by Cowdry and Nicholson, ^ Da Fano,^ Good- 

 pasture,^ and others. Smith and Florence^ found it associated as a nest infection in a 

 spontaneous epidemic of nephritis among young rabbits. The lesions consist of 

 meningitis of the cortex and septa of the brain, perivascular infiltration of the brain, 

 nodules composed of centrally necrotized cells, and marked changes in the infected 

 epithelium of the renal tubules, liver, and spleen. The parasites are either scattered 

 or inclosed in many so-called "cysts." It is primarily a parasite of the kidneys and 

 is distributed through the bloodstream to all parts of the body. Levaditi and his 

 associates describe sporulating stages (pansporoblasts) and conclude that the para- 

 site is a microsporidium in spite of the fact that these parasites have never been 

 found in warm-blooded animals. The evidence is not conclusive, and it is not un- 

 likely that the organism is not even a protozoon. Spontaneous encephalitis and ne- 

 phritis is frequent in American, European, Chinese, and Japanese rabbits; but, 

 according to Cowdry, ' it does not exist to the same degree in rabbits from certain 

 other localities. Thus far it has not been reported in tropical climates or south of 

 the Equator. 



In the course of a series of unsuccessful attempts to reproduce experimental 

 rheumatic fever in rabbits. Miller, Andrewes, and Swift'" recovered a virus, which is 

 probably a parasite of the domestic rabbit. It produces an acute orchitis under ex- 

 perimental conditions and is readily propagated from rabbit to rabbit. The natural 

 course of the infection is unknown. 



Ectoparasitic diseases due various mites, Noto'edres cuniculi and Dermatocoptes 

 {Psoroptes) cuniculi, may be the cause of sporadic deaths among rabbits. The most 



■ Oliver, J.: /. Inject. Dis., 30, 91. 1922. 

 - Twort, C. C: Vet. J., 78, 194. 1922. ' 



3 Doerr, R., and Zdansky, E.: Schweiz. med. Wchnschr., 4, 349, 1189. 1923; Ztschr. f. Hyg. u. 

 Infektionskrankh., loi, 239. 1923. 



■i Levaditi, C, Nicolau, S., and Schoen, R.: Ann. de I'Inst. Pasteur, 38, 651. 1924. 



s Cowdry, E. V., and Nicholson, E. M.: /..4.M.^., 82, 545. 1924. 



^da Fano, C: J. Path. &' Bact., 27, ^s^- 1924. 



7 Goodpasture, E. W.: J. Infect. Dis., 34, 428. 1924. « Smith, T., and Florence, L.: loc. cit. 



'Cowdry, E. V.: /. E.xper. Med., 43, 725. 1926. 



■"Miller, C. P., Andrewes, C. H., and Swift, H. F.: ibid., 40, 773. 1924. See also ibid., p. 789. 

 1924; 38, 673. 1923; and 39, 777. 1924. 



