Experimental infection of domestic ducks and rodents by Notocotylus attenuatus (Trematoda: Notocotylidae).

In order to study transmission patterns of Notocotylus attenuatus five 3-wk-old domestic ducks, five 8-wk-old rats and ten 4-wk-old mice were infected with the parasite. All ducks became infected and all flukes were recovered from the intestinal ceca. Worms moved down the length of the cecum during development and as the parasites grew they changed their method of attachment. Flukes became gravid by day 16 post-infection, after which growth ceased. Egg filaments appear to play a role in the formation and movement of worm egg clusters from the distal portion of the cecum to the lumen of small intestine. Rodents also became infected with the parasite producing granulomatous nodular lesions in the lower small intestine but all flukes in the granulomata were dead. It is unlikely that transmission of this trematode can depend on mice and rats.