EXPERIMENTAL INFECTIONS WITH THE TASMANIAN ISOLATE OF TRICHINELLA-PSEUDOSPIRALIS USING A NONENZYMATIC RECOVERY TECHNIQUE

Laboratory rats and mice, cats, brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecu la), and 2 species of raptor (marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus, and b rown falcon, Falco berigora) were either infected orally with larvae o f Trichinella pseudospiralis isolated by a non-enzymatic technique or by feeding infected muscle tissue. Muscle from a naturally infected Ta smanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) and an eastern quoll (Dasyurus vi verrinus) resulted in infections in cats, rats, and marsh harriers. Si milarly, larvae derived from feline muscle were infective for mice and a brown falcon. Infected muscle tissue from marsh harriers was also i nfective for the same species. The reproductive capacity index (RCI) f or rats fed larvae from an eastern quoll was 34.5, whereas the RCI for mice infected with larvae derived from a cat was 31.6.