Infectivity of Leishmania donovani amastigotes and promastigotes for golden hamsters.
Intracardial injection of hamsters with from 5 to 114 million amastigotes or promastigotes of Leishmania donovani and screening of the 8th-day liver impression smears, provides a rapid and reproducible method for assaying infectivity. Amastigotes are at least 10X more infective than promastigotes, and log-phase promastigotes act as a single infective population for hamsters.
D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D007891:Leishmania / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000469:parasitology; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male