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The dynamics of trickle infections with Ancylostoma ceylanicum in inbred hamsters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

T. J. Brailsford
Affiliation:
MRC Experimental Parasitology Research Group, Department of Life Science, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
J. M. Behnke
Affiliation:
MRC Experimental Parasitology Research Group, Department of Life Science, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD

Summary

Trickle infections with a hamster-adapted strain of the hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum were studied by administering doses of 5–30 larvae twice weekly to inbred DSN hamsters. The worm burdens were regulated at very low levels, and this was found to be independent of the size of the infective dose. It is likely that there is some turnover of adult worms during trickle infection, as larvae of all stages were recovered from most time-points. This regulation is immunologically mediated and both the worm burdens and fecundity were increased in hamsters that were immunosuppressed by cortisone treatment. A trickle infection regime also induced a 67% protective immunity to a single subsequent challenge. The resistance that occurred during trickle infections was, however, incomplete, and some worms were found to survive in hamsters that had been repeatedly infected for over 10 weeks. Thus, although hamsters are capable of regulating the infection, some worms are capable of surviving the host immune effectors.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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