The hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) as an experimental host for the bovine liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica)

The results of a study testing the susceptibility of the hispid cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus, to infection with Fasciola hepatica are described. Ten cotton rats were placed into one of four test groups, one uninfected contro l or three animals each receiving two, five, or 10 F. hepatica metacercaria e. Three of nine (33%) became infected, and two of these animals carried th e infection to patency. At necropsy one animal had two mature F. hepatica w ithin the common bile duct, and the other harbored a single fluke. Gross an d microscopic changes, primarily of the liver, associated with infection ar e described. as are fecal egg counts throughout the duration of infection. (C)2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.