The current status of treponema cuniculi. Review of the literature.

Experimental ocular and neurosyphilis has been investigated in this laboratory during the past three years in three species: (1) Rabbits. (2) Owl monkeys (Aotus trivirgatus). (3) Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciurea). Rabbits were selected as a control to the primate experiments because they were used in the great majority of previous studies, and the obvious advantage of having a large available literature pertaining to experimental syphilis in the rabbit. The disadvantage of this species, however, is the occurrence of an endemic spirochaetal disease in the rabbit-benign venereal spirochaetosis-due to Treponema cuniculi. The paucity of reports in English concerning T. cuniculi made detailed information concerning rabbit spirochaetosis difficult to obtain. No papers on this subject have appeared in the literature for nearly two decades. Furthermore, the older and foreign literature was found to bristle with differences of opinion concerning major aspects of the disease, such as the incidence, incubation period, morphology of the organism, infectiousness for other species, serological responses, ocular involvement, and the like. These factors prompted this review of the literature in order to determine the current status of T. cuniculi as related to experimental syphilis research.