Record Details
Meriones unguiculatus, a new experimental host for Fasciola hepatica
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Meriones unguiculatus, a new experimental host for Fasciola hepatica |
| Names |
Helfer, Donald Harold
(creator) Knapp, Stuart E. (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1966-05-05 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1966 |
| Abstract | The literature relating to fascioliasis in experimental hosts, and the clawed jird (Meriones unguiculatus) as an experimental host was reviewed. Four experiments were conducted using experimental hosts for Fasciola hepatica. The first two experiments were done using Swiss mice, B. P. laboratory albino strain; the third and fourth experiments involved the clawed jird. The metacercariae of F. hepatica used in the first three experiments were obtained from Weybridge, England, and from Lymnaeid snails maintained by the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. Metacercariae from the latter source were used in experiment number four. An individual dose of 20 and 10 metacercariae proved fatal to mice 26 to 29 and 27 to 31 days following infection, respectively. A similar fatality pattern was observed in experiment number three from day 27 through 33, when the clawed jird was infected with 20 metacercariae. In experiment number four, the dosage of metacercariae given to five groups of clawed jirds was as follows: 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. Similar death losses were observed in animals receiving 4, 8 and 16 metacercariae from day 26 through 36. No lesions were observed in the two groups receiving one and two metacercariae, or the controls. The absence of lesions in the two infected groups was attributed to the administration of nonviable metacercariae. Necropsy of infected animals that died revealed hemoperitoneum, fibrinous peritonitis, and severe hepatic necrosis. Histological examination of liver sections from these animals revealed necrosis, infarction, and organized hemorrhages. Evidence of inflammatory response was observed around the fluke's burrows and the hepatic trinities. Biliary hyperplasia was evident and flukes were observed in the hepatic parenchyma. Flukes recovered from the liver and from peritoneal washings compared favorably in size with previous reports in mice. The mouse as an experimental host for fascioliasis has been established by others. This study confirmed this finding. Although F. hepatica was not observed to complete its life cycle in the clawed jird, the susceptibility of this host for F. hepatica was demonstrated. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Liver flukes |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/47990 |
