High infectivity of Toxocara cati larvae from muscles of experimentally infected rats.

The organ distribution of Toxocara cati larvae in albino rats Rattus norvegicus (n=6/group) experimentally inoculated with 1000 embryonated eggs was examined 1, 2, 3, 7, 30, 90, and 180 days post inoculation (dpi), and the infectivity of recovered larvae was evaluated by bioassay in mice. The intestines, liver, lungs, muscles (carcass) and other organs (heart, brain, spleen, kidneys and genital organs) were digested for larval recovery. Larvae were recovered from all rats, with the mean number of recovered larvae ranging from 13.