Relationship between Infecting Dose, Muscle Parasitism, and Antibody Response in Experimental Trichinosis in Rabbits

Abstract

Adult female rabbits (140) were divided into 17 different groups; each group was infected with a different does of Trichinella spiralis larvae (ranging from 5 [image] 105 larvae/g muscle). The numbers of parasites obtained in the muscle and the serum antibody titer of the experimental animals were determined. The degree of muscle parasitism was independent of the size of the infecting dose with 1 exception, all doses produced virtually the same level of parasitism. There are differences in susceptibility of rabbits to experimental trichinosis. The antibody response, as measured by the complement-fixation (C. F.) reaction, was directly proportional to the degree of muscle infection. Antibodies detected by the C. F. test are not protective in experimental trichinosis. No direct relation was found between the C. F. fixation titer and the number of arcs of specific precipitation obtained in immunoelectrophoresis.