Toxicosis of mirex for chick embryos and chickens hatched from eggs inoculated with mirex.
Mirex, a hydrocarbon, was mixed with corn oil and injected into chick embryos to test its toxic effect. At a concentration of 0 05 mg mirex/egg, embryo mortality was 40%, at 0.5 mg/egg, mortality was 49%, and at 5.0 mg/egg, mortality reached 81%. Mortality of control eggs injected with corn oil alone was 36%. The body weights of newly hatched chickens and of 4-week-old chicks were not different from those of controls. No clinical signs of disease were seen during the 4 weeks of observation. However, liver weights were increased at all 3 dosages when the birds were killed at 4 weeks, but spleen and bursal weights were not. The results support the decision to discontinue the use of mirex as a pesticide in the environment for controlling the fire ant (Solenopsis sp.) until a better means of presenting it can be found.
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury; D002642:Chick Embryo / Q000187:drug effects*; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000662:veterinary; D008917:Mirex / Q000633:toxicity*; D009026:Mortality; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced
D007306:Insecticides; D008917:Mirex