Skip to main content
Bulletin of the World Health Organization logoLink to Bulletin of the World Health Organization
. 1972;46(3):301–309.

Schistosoma mansoni infection in rhesus monkeys: comparison of the course of heavy and light infections*

Allen W Cheever, Kendall G Powers
PMCID: PMC2480755  PMID: 4625509

Abstract

The course of Schistosoma mansoni infection in rhesus monkeys exposed to 100 or 600 cercariae was compared. During the first 12 weeks, the numbers of eggs per worm pair passed in the faeces and retained in the tissues were similar in the two groups. Between weeks 12 and 27, two-thirds of the worms died in monkeys exposed to 600 cercariae, many surviving worms shifted from colonic to small intestinal venules, and the number of eggs per worm pair passed in the faeces decreased. None of these changes occurred in monkeys exposed to 100 cercariae and in these animals the number of eggs passed in the faeces consistently increased after the twelfth week. The findings indicate that study of a single level of infection is not adequate to define the host response, and that the relation between worm burden and the number of eggs in the faeces is considerably influenced by host response.

Monkeys were also studied 6 and 7 weeks after exposure to 600 cercariae. After the seventh week of infection, inflammatory infiltrates in the colon and portal tracts became much less marked, and the granulomas surrounding mature eggs decreased in size.

Full text

PDF
306

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ANDRADE Z. A. WARREN KS: MILD PROLONGED SCHISTOSOMIASIS IN MICE: ALTERATIONS IN HOST RESPONSE WITH TIME AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PORTAL FIBROSIS. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1964 Jan;58:53–57. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(64)90068-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson L. A., Cheever A. W. Comparison of geographical strains of Schistosoma mansoni in the mouse. Bull World Health Organ. 1972;46(2):233–242. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CHEEVER A. W. A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI INFECTIONS IN MICE, GERBILS, MULTIMAMMATE RATS AND HAMSTERS. I. THE RELATION OF PORTAL HYPERTENSION TO SIZE OF HEPATIC GRANULOMAS. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1965 Mar;14:211–226. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1965.14.211. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cheever A. W., Powers K. G. Rate of destruction of Schistosoma mansoni eggs and adult worms in the tissues of rhesus monkeys. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1971 Jan;20(1):69–76. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1971.20.69. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cheever A. W., Powers K. G. Schistosoma mansoni infection in rhesus monkeys: changes in egg production and egg distribution in prolonged infections in intact and splenectomized monkeys. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1969 Mar;63(1):83–93. doi: 10.1080/00034983.1969.11686603. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Domingo E. O., Warren K. S. Endogenous desensitization: changing host granulomatou response to schistosome eggs at different stages of infection with schistosoma mansoni. Am J Pathol. 1968 Feb;52(2):369–379. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Li Hsü S. Y., Davis J. R., Hsü H. F., Mergner W., Lust G. L. Lesions caused by eggs of the Changhua strain of Schistosoma japonicum in the liver of Formosan monkeys. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1970 Sep;19(5):785–791. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1970.19.785. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. McCully R. M., Kruger S. P. Observations on bilharziasis of domestic ruminants in South Africa. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1969 Jun;36(1):129–162. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. McMullen D. B., Ritchie L. S., Oliver-González J., Knight W. B. Schistosoma mansoni in Macaca mulatta. Long-term studies on the course of primary and challenge infections. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1967 Sep;16(5):620–627. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Powers K. G., Cheever A. W. Comparison of geographical strains of Schistosoma mansoni in the rhesus monkey. Bull World Health Organ. 1972;46(3):295–300. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Ritchie L. S., Knight W. B., McMullen D. B., Von Lichtenberg F. The influence of infection intensity of Schistosoma mansoni on resistance against existing and subsequent infections in Macaca mulatta. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1966 Jan;15(1):43–49. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1966.15.43. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Smithers S. R., Terry R. J. Naturally acquired resistance to experimental infections of Schistosoma mansoni in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). Parasitology. 1965 Nov;55(4):701–710. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Striebel H. P. The effects of niridazole in experimental schistosomiasis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1969 Oct 6;160(2):491–518. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1969.tb15870.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Bulletin of the World Health Organization are provided here courtesy of World Health Organization

RESOURCES