Studies on specific oculo-vascular myiasis of domestic animals (uitpeuloog). II. Experimental transmission

Abstract

It has been shown that thrombo-phlebitis and thrombo-arteritis with prominent eosinophilia are constant lesions pathognomonic for uitpeuloog. The incidence of these lesions is not correlated with the severity of the eye lesions which previously were regarded as the pathogonomonic symptom. Uitpeuloog was transmitted by the subinoculation of large doses of fresh blood from natural cases in the acute phase of the disease. In one instance the infection was maintained by subinoculation in series for three passages, when it was lost. A successful transmission with blood from an apparently healthy wildebeest is recorded. In a single experiment brain material was found to be non-infective. A frequent transmissible intercurrent infection was spirochaetosis due to S. theileri which is believed to play no part in the aetiology of uitpeuloog as a clinical entity. Up to this stage of the investigations the definite aetiological agent had not been identified. It is believed that nutritional and environmental factors are at most of minor aetiological importance. Guinea-pigs and mice were refractory to infection.