Pneumonia in cats caused by Pneumocystis carinii purified from mouse lungs

Abstract

Fourteen mice trapped in or near houses were infected with Pneumocystis carinii and the establishment of pneumonia was helped by injecting with cortisone acetate for 6 weeks. Then 16 cats were infected with P. carinii by injection of lung homogenate from the mice which contained from 1.3 × 10 5 to 2.6 × 10 5 P. carinii cysts. The infection resulted in severe cough and tachypnea in Cats 1–8 injected with cortisone acetate, and a subclinical infection in Cats 9–16. In Cats 1–8, the main pathological finding was typical P. carinii pneumonia, but there only was slight swelling of the lungs in Cats 9–16.