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