Experimental intestinal histoplasmosis of hamsters

Summary

In order to elicit primary intestinal histoplasmosis, hamsters and mice were given the infective agent by drinking a suspension of yeast cells, eating infected mouse liver, and through injection into the wall of the lumen of the cecum after laparotomy.

Histologic examination and isolation by cultures were made, maximally 6 weeks after infection.

No clear-cut histoplasmic primary complex in the intestine was confirmed, but a fungus disease was achieved in a few animals, suggesting the intestinal tract as a possible portal of entrance of the infection.

Some of the animals fed with a fungus suspension developed primary pulmonary lesions, a remarkable fact to be considered in evaluation of ‘feeding’ experiments.

The lack of confirmed evidence of intestinal primary lesions as contrasted with the constant demonstration, when searched for, of pulmonary lesions, would suggest that the intestinal tract should not be considered a major portal of entrance in histoplasmosis.