Quantitative Determinations of Critical Mortality Periods in Untreated and Treated Infections with the B Strain of Trypanosoma cruzi in Mice

Abstract

The mortality patterns of untreated experimental infections with the B strain of F. cruzi in female, Manor-Swiss mice are described, following intraperitoneal or subcutaneous inoculation with varying numbers of parasites. A positive correlation occurred between initial parasite densities and degrees of virulence following both routes of inoculation, but greater relative degrees of virulence and more uniform mortality patterns resulted when the subcutaneous route was employed. Examples are given of the use of quantitative survival-time data for measuring chemotherapeutic activity in highly standardized experimental infections with the B strain of T. cruzi in mice.