TORTICOLLIS IN WISTAR ALBINO RATS - A CASE REPORT

摘要

Streptococcal infections are very common in laboratory animals, especially in rats. Torticollis or wryneck is a result of Streptococcal infection of the middle ear and extension to inner ear (James et al., 1986; John Harkness and Joseph Wagner, 1989).There were fifty adult rats which were maintained for conducting experiments among which three rats started showing the symptoms of head shaking and circling movements in the cage. The animals were normal in physiological functions. These animals were euthanized humanely and ear swabs were collected and cultured on blood agar plates. Upon necropsy, suppurative lesions were also noticed in the ear. Discrete pinpoint colonies, obtained after 24 hours of incubation, were examined for Gram's reaction and subjected to biochemical tests. They were Gram positive cocci in chains, oxidase and catalase negative. The isolates were identified as streptococci, which was in accordance with the findings of Cruickshank et al., (1975) and Collie et al., (1989).