F. hepatica eggs from infected cattle and rabbits were incubated at room temperature, hatching miracidia within 9 to 13 days. Newly hatched miracidia were used to infect 233 L. columella 5 to 11 mm long. Only 3% of the infected snails survived until the cercariae fully developed. From 190 to 1150 metacercariae developed within 46 to 54 days. Laboratory-bred mice, rats, Guinea pigs, and rabbits were fed metacercariae of different ages, but only the rabbits eliminated eggs in their feces, and this 78 days after infection, Adult worms were recovered after death of the rabbits.
Laboratory infection; Fasciola hepatica; Lymnala columella
