title: Efficiency of the oral, intramuscular and subcutaneous routes for the experimental infection of hamster and sheep with Schistosoma bovis.
abstract: The percutaneous administration of cercariae is the usual method for experimental infections with Schistosoma bovis. These procedures are laborious and have important inconveniences when working with a large number of animals, especially if they are ruminants. In the present study, the efficiency of the oral, intramuscular and subcutaneous routes are evaluated by comparison with the percutaneous route in experimental infections with S. bovis. The infections developed in hamsters and sheep were evaluated taking as a basis the parasite burden, the concentrations of eggs in tissues and the levels of anti-Schistosoma antibodies. The oral infection failed in both hamsters and sheep. The administration of the cercariae by the intramuscular route was effective in sheep, developing infections of intensity similar to that of the infections acquired percutaneously. In hamsters, on the contrary, although all the animals developed the infection, they were very little intense. The injection of the cercariae by the subcutaneous route induces acceptable infections in hamsters and can also be an alternative route to percutaneous exposure. The levels of the anti-Schistosoma bovis antibodies detected in hamster and sheep were proportional to the number of worms present, which shows that the humoral response is a good indicator of the intensity of the infections. It can be concluded that the intramuscular route is a good alternative to the percutaneous route for experimental infections of sheep with S. bovis. Likewise, the subcutaneous route can also substitute, with some advantages, the percutaneous infections in hamsters.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Patología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), C/ Cordel de Merinas, 40-52. 37008 Salamanca, Spain. oleaga@usal.es
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oleaga
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ramajo
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood*; D006224:Cricetinae / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular / Q000662:veterinary; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous / Q000662:veterinary; D010270:Parasite Egg Count / Q000662:veterinary; D011897:Random Allocation; D012547:Schistosoma / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth