Drinking water ivermectin treatment for eradication of pinworm infections from laboratory rat colonies

Abstract

233 SummaryThe effects of ivermectin were studied in laboratory rats naturally infected with the pinworm Syphacia muris. Ivermectin was administered over four 5-days periods in drinking water; the ivermectin dose was 2.5 mg/kg of body weight per day. All the rats were weighed every five days and their ova production was monitored by a cellophanetape test. Every fifth day six males and six females from the experimental group were euthanized and examined for adult pinworms and larvae. The rats' health condition, behaviour and consumption of food and water were monitored every day. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of orally administered ivermectin as a treatment against adult pinworms and their larvae in laboratory rat colonies.

Diagnosis of the pinwormSyphacia murisin the Wistar ratRattus norvegicus

“…Since most eggs are found in the peri-anal area and only a small portion will be eliminated with faeces, sedimentation and other traditional methods involving faecal collection, as well as egg quantification by floatation, are considered less effective, and are likely to underestimate Syphacia spp. Establishing a reliable diagnostic method for S. muris is essential because this oxyurid is commonly found in laboratory rodent colonies, and infection can cause physiological changes in hosts that may compromise biomedical research data (Wagner, 1988;Gilioli et al, 2000;Lytvynets et al, 2010;Tanideh et al, 2010). The Graham method is also the most suitable technique for detecting eggs of species such as Enterobius vermicularis (Jeandron et al, 2010), as fertilized females also lay eggs preferably around the peri-anal region of the host.…”

“…The female lays fertilized eggs in the colon and peri-anal regions of the rat (Lytvynets et al, 2010). The female lays fertilized eggs in the colon and peri-anal regions of the rat (Lytvynets et al, 2010).…”

“…The life cycle of S. muris is direct. The female lays fertilized eggs in the colon and peri-anal regions of the rat (Lytvynets et al , 2010). Eggs, which are infective within a few hours and contaminate other rodents, are highly resistant to the environment and can survive for extended periods of time at room temperature.…”

“…the hatching of eggs in the anus and subsequent movement of larvae into the colon. The pre-patent period of S. muris is 7–8 days, in which adult worms establish themselves in the caecum and ascending colon (Lewis & d'Silva, 1986; Baker, 1998; Lytvynets et al , 2010).…”

The effect ofSyphacia murison nutrient digestibility in laboratory rats

“…Rats are most commonly used in experiments designed to test the digestibility of individual nutrients in various feeds. However, it is very difficult to keep rats free of pinworm infection, 7,8 and therefore, many of these experiments are conducted with infected animals.…”