Evidences against a significant role of Mus musculus as natural host for Angiostrongylus costaricensis

Abstract

Wild rodents have been described as the most important hosts for Angiostronglus costaricensis in Central America and southern Brazil. Sinantropic rodents apparently do not play a significant role as natural hosts. A search for natural infection failed to document worms in 14 mice captured in the house of a patient with diagnosis of abdominal angiostrongylosis and experimental infection of a "wild" Mus musculus strain and groups of albino Swiss mice were carried out. Mortality was not significantly different and varied from 42% to 80% for Swiss mice and from 26% to 80% for "wild" mice. The high mortality of a "wild" M. musculus infected with A. costaricensis was very similar to what is observed with most laboratory mice strains. These data may be taken as indications that M musculus is not a well adapted host for A. costaricensis, although susceptibility was apparently higher with "wild" populations of M. musculus as compared to Swiss strain.