Experimental infection of chicken embryos with recently described Brucella microti: Pathogenicity and pathological findings

• We study the virulence of Brucella microti in chicken embryos.
• B. microti is able to infect and to replicate in chicken embryos very efficiently.
• Chicken embryos are a useful model to study the pathogenesis of brucellosis.
• Inoculation of embryonated eggs seems to be a useful tool to isolate B. microti.

Brucellae are facultative intracellular pathogens causing disease in a wide range of domestic and wild animals as well as in humans. Brucella (B.) microti is a recently recognized species and was isolated from common voles (Microtus arvalis), red foxes and soil in Austria and the Czech Republic. Its pathogenicit