Abstract
Lactation in sheep and mice was associated with a marked increase in susceptibility to newly acquired infection withHaemonchus contortus andNematospiroides dubius, respectively. In sheep this increased susceptibility to infection withH. contortus occurred in late pregnancy and during lactation and was seen when the ewes were infected with both a single large dose of infective larvae and a “trickle” infection of 200 and 400 infective larvae ofH. contortus given weekly for 14 weeks. Nonlactating ewes whose lactation had been terminated were able to reject the parasites which had been acquired in late pregnancy.
A relaxation in the protective immune response was evident in immunized mice infected during lactation withN. dubius. However, despite this periparturient relaxation of immunity mice were capable of inducing a marked passive transfer of immunity to their offspring. Thus, neonatal mice born of mothers one or two months after the end of the immunizing schedule were protected against infection withN. dubius at 12 or 20 days of age.
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Shubber, A.H., Lloyd, S. & Soulsby, E.J.L. Infection with gastrointestinal helminths. Effect of lactation and maternal transfer of immunity. Z. Parasitenkd. 65, 181–189 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00929184
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00929184