PERMISSIVENESS OF 2 AFRICAN WILD RODENTS, MASTOMYS HUBERTI AND ARVICANTHIS NILOTICUS, TO SCHISTOSOMA INTERCALATUM - EPIDEMIOLOGIC CONSEQUENCES

The compatibility between Schistosoma intercalatum (Cameroon) and two wild rodents commonly found in Africa, Mastomys huberti (the multimamm ate mouse) and Arvicanthis niloticus (the Nile rat) was studied to det ermine their biological capacities to act as hosts for S. intercalatum . In both rodent species the general mean worm recovery was high (33 /- 0.1% in M. huberti and 33.8 +/- 0.1% in A. niloticus) and worm mort ality was very low from 6 to 20 weeks postinfection; parasite maturity was reached. The high number of released eggs as well as the viabilit y and the infectivity of the miracidia to the snail vector showed that M. huberti and A. niloticus are very permissive to S. intercalatum an d may act as hosts for the human disease.