The Host Specificity of Giardia from Laboratory Strains of Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus

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Abstract
Host specificity in the genus Giardia is a controversial subject. This investigation was undertaken in an attempt to clarify this situation. The results obtained indicated that Giardia muris, the mouse protozoan, would not survive in the rat. These results also showed the mouse to be an unsuitable host for Giardia duodenalis from rats. All of the animals used in these experiments were maintained on identical diets. Examination of the trophozoite and cystic forms of Giardia spp. and review of the pertinent literature have shown that the only consistent morphological difference between the various species of Giardia is the median body. Therefore, this structure appears to be the only valid basis of determining the species at the present time. This tends to corroborate a previous action in reducing the number of genera to 3 and the assignment of nontaxonomic race names to forms from various hosts.

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