The Effect of Cortisone Treatment Upon the Longevity and Productivity of Trichinella Spiralis in the Rat

Abstract

The use of cortisone and other steroid compounds in the treatment of human trichinosis, while potentially life-saving, may result in prolongation of the intestinal phase of infection, and a heavier muscle infection. Wistar rats, treated with cortisone after infection with 5000 Trichinella larvae by mouth, retained their intestinal infection essentially undiminished for the first 8 weeks, and in smaller numbers for as long as 14 weeks. Rats similarly infected, but not treated with cortisone, lost most of their intestinal infection within 2 weeks, and all intestinal worms within 4 weeks after infection. Larval counts done on the two groups of rats indicated that treated animals developed approximately 9.7 times as many larvae in their muscles as did the controls. It is suggested that when cortisone is employed in the treatment of human trichinosis a simultaneous course of treatment designed to eliminate the intestinal phase of the infection be employed.