[Morphological and biological characterization of a pure strain of Eimeria mitis].

A pure strain of Eimeria mitis was obtained from a crude field isolate by single oocyst inoculation of chicken. The strain was identified as Eimeria mitis by the morphology of the oocysts. Sporulated oocysts measured 16.1 +/- 2.1 microns in length and 13.6 +/- 1.0 microns in width. The shape index was 1.18. The prepatent period was 4 days and patency lasted 12 to 13 days. The highest number of oocysts was shed at day 6 after infection of chicken with 1 x 10(4), 5 x 10(4), or 1 x 10(5) oocysts and at day 8 after infection with 5 x 10(5) oocysts. A single infection of chicken with 1 x 10(4), 5 x 10(4), 1 x 10(5), or 5 x 10(5) oocysts resulted in reproduction values of 1:118,662, 1:15,720, 1:9,977 and 1:731, respectively.