The Comparative Tissue Reaction of Two Strains of Australorbis glabratus to Infection with Schistosoma mansoni

Abstract

A study of sections of 50 snails of a Puerto Rican and a Brazilian strain of A. glabratus revealed differences which account, in part, for the failure to infect the latter strain with a Puerto Rican strain of S. mansoni In the susceptible Puerto Rican strain, the parasite develops apparently without any effective interference on the part of the snail; in the Brazilian strain the parasite is destroyed and removed, usually within 24-48 hrs. after penetration. As at least a part of this response, there is a marked cellular infiltration around the parasite. A fibrotic type of walling-off reaction also appears to be characteristic of this response.