Studies on protozoa-part III.—Visceral. leishmaniasis in the cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus)

Abstract

The cotton rat is an excellent host animal for Leishmania donovani since it gives a typical picture of a progressive character, yet does not succumb and therefore is of value in testing therapeutics. It is far superior to the golden hamster as an exptl. animal and matches the value of the Chinese gray hamster. Neither spleen liver, nor bone marrow functions are seriously deranged by the infection; the protein content of the blood serum remains unchanged; and the growth rate and longevity expectations are similar to those of control animals.