Evaluation of the infectivity of Trichinella spp. for reptiles (Caiman sclerops).

Experimental inoculation with nine well-characterised Trichinella isolates was performed on caimans (Caiman sclerops) to determine their infectivity for reptiles belonging to the family Crocodilidae. As controls, the same larval batches of Trichinella isolates were inoculated into mice and guinea pigs. It was suggested that Trichinella pseudospiralis was more likely to infect reptiles than encapsulating species, but whereas all Trichinella species established in mice and guinea pigs, the caimans remained negative. The finding that caimans could not be experimentally infected contrasts with a recent report on infections in farmed crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus).