Observations on the infectivity of Baylisascaris transfuga eggs for mice.

To investigate the potential pathogenicity of Baylisascaris spp. nematodes, mice were experimentally infected with Baylisascaris transfuga eggs, which had been cultured in 0.1 N sulphuric acid, for a period in excess of 1 year. Infectivity for mice appeared after 2 weeks in cultures (2.8%), peaked after 4 weeks (37.4%) and then waned over the next 18 months. The implications of B. transfuga as a possible agent of visceral larva migrans in animals and humans was demonstrated.