Schistosomiasis mansoni. I - evolution of the pathologic picture: parasitologic, hematologic, and histopathologic analyses

Abstract

In order to accompany the evolution of primary bisexual inifection of mice by Schistosoma mansoni, Swiss mice were infected with 100 cercariae of the Belo Horizonte strain of Schistosoma mansoni, and the infection's evolution was followed for eight weeks. A relationship between the number of hepatic granulomas and the number of worms was verified. Body weight gain, spleen, and the percentage of the liver weight in relation to body weight were different when compared to infected and control animals. White blood cells in the infected mice presented alterations in the total number of leukocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes. The histologic analyses of the spleen and liver revealed alterations in these organs; these alterations varied according to the stage of infection.