Summary
The effects of diethylcarbamazine citrate and thiabendazole on Toxocara canis larvae in mice have been examined in order to test the suitability of this host and parasite for evaluating compounds of potential anthelmintic activity.
Statistical evaluation of the results obtained with both anthelmintics showed that activity can be detected from a comparison of the numbers of larvae within the brains of the treated mice with those within the brains of untreated controls without recourse to examination of their carcasses. The method by which the screen is routinely operated in the authors laboratory for evaluating compounds of potential activity is described.
The results also showed that diethylcarbamazine citrate when administered by either the subcutaneous or oral routes proved to be effective in reducing the numbers of larvae recoverable from both the brains and carcasses of experimentally infected mice. A higher level of activity was obtained when the anthelmintic was administered during the period after infection in which the larvae were migrating through the viscera than when they were established in the brain and skeletal musculature. Thiabendazole when administered subcutaneously during the same period after infection showed a significant but lesser degree of activity. No significant reduction in larval numbers were obtained when this anthelmintic was given orally.
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Burren, C.H. Experimental toxocariasis. Z. F. Parasitenkunde 30, 162–170 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00259725
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00259725