The response of captive rodents to the migration of Ancylostoma caninum larvae.

The distribution of the larvae of Ancylostoma caninum in tissues of captive wild rodents (Rattus rattus) and the leucocytic and behavioural responses of these rodents were studied after experimental oral infection. There was a wide distribution of larvae in tissues with a preponderance of the larvae in the skeletal muscles of the anterior part of the body in older infection. The rats responded by an elevation of total leucocytes and eosinophils in blood, alternation of locomotory activity and behavioural dominance that may have a correlation with predation and epidemiology of A. caninum in a sylvatic setting.