Studies on Trypanosoma avium

A strain of Trypanosoma avium isolated from Corvus frugilegus in England was readily cultivated in vitro in diphasic blood agar, or blood nutrient agar, media at 28 °C. In both media, small trypanosomes appeared which morphologically resembled the metacyclic forms from the insect vector and which were infective to canaries. They were more numerous, and developed more regularly, in the medium with the nutrient agar base. At 40–41 °C a few of these small trypanosomes apparently developed into large trypanosomes similar to, but not identical with, those seen in the blood of infected birds.