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Reproductive Biology Of The Rat Lungworm Angiostrongylus Cantonensis (Metastrongyloidea: Angiostrongylidae), Grace Spatafora Harris

Master's Theses

Twenty rats (Rattus norvegicus) received infective inocula of 5, 10, 20, and 40 third-stage larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The effects of varying doses of larvae on prepatent period larval production, worm establishment, worm size, and fertility were studied. The aquatic gastropod Biomphalaria glabratta was the experimental intermediate host.

The duration of the prepatent period varied from 37 to 45 days. The shortest prepatent period was observed in animals that received the highest infective inoculum. The prepatent period showed a significant inverse relationship with increasing inoculum size. Larval production increased logarithmically, followed by a plateau phase. The number of larvae per …