Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid in healthy rabbits and rabbits with clinically suspected encephalitozoonosis

Samples of uncontaminated cerebrospinal fluid (csf) were collected from the cisterna magna of 20 healthy laboratory rabbits and 21 pet rabbits with vestibular disease and/or paresis due to clinically suspected encephalitozoonosis. In the healthy rabbits' csf the leucocyte count was <or=4 leucocytes/microl (median 1.5 microl) and the concentration of protein ranged from 0.13 to 0.31 g/l (median 0.24 g/l). In the diseased rabbits, the number of leucocytes ranged from 1 to 87/microl (median 15/microl; P<0.001), and the concentration of protein ranged from 0.31 to 1.54 g/l (median 0.79 g/l; P<0.001); a cytological evaluation showed that they had greater numbers of lymphocytes and monocytes. It was concluded that encephalitozoonosis in rabbits is characterised by lymphomonocytic pleocytosis in CSF.