[Experimental infestation of goats with first instar larvae of Oestrus ovis].

A protocol of experimental infection with OEstrus ovis larvae L1 was applied to kids in order to study their susceptibility to OEstrus ovis. Two-month-old kids, born and raised indoors during winter, were infected with single or repeated administrations of OEstrus ovis L1. Two or three months later, the kids were slaughtered and larvae harvested from their nasal cavities. Following a single administration of 30 L1, 8.3 and 3.3% of the larvae survived after two and three months respectively. After eight repetitive infections in two months with the same number of larvae (30 L1), only 2.2% survived. Over a three months period, ie, eleven repetitive infections with a total of 61 L1, only 1.4% were found at the necropsies. This experiment indicates that goats are not very susceptible to OEstrus ovis infection.