Helminth parasites of laboratory mice and rats

Agnieszka Perec-Matysiak, Anna Okulewicz, Joanna Hildebrand, Grzegorz Zaleśny
2006 Wiadomosci parazytologiczne  
Rodents, as mice and rats are the most common laboratory animals used in research and testing. They are seldom investigated for autochthonous ecto- and endoparasites prior their utilization in the experiments. Helminth parasites can alter the interpretation of final results. Pinworms commonly infecting laboratory rodents include mainly the mice pinworms Syphacia obvelata and Aspiculuris tetraptera, and in rats Syphacia muris. The fact that many laboratory rodent colonies were found to be
more » ... e contaminated suggests a need for eradication and improvment of the quality of laboratory rodents. This review reports the data on the presence of helminth parasites in laboratory rodents colonies, and suggests to pay special attention on controlling the sanitary conditions of animal houses.
pmid:17120990 fatcat:enh5c7q7rbbgbgot54h2y5fqte