Experimental trichinosis in sheep.

Trichinella spiralis spiralis infections were established in sheep by administering infective larvae via gavage or feeding infected musculature. Trichinella spiralis nativa infective larvae had a low infectivity for sheep although light infections may be established in some animals with large infective doses. For the most part, sheep were averse to ingesting musculature mixed in a grain ration unless it was camouflaged with molasses. The heaviest infections usually occurred in the masseter muscle. The fact that sheep are averse to ingesting muscle tissue may reduce the likelihood of trichinosis. Anti-Trichinella antibodies to both T: spiralis spiralis and T. spiralis nativa were produced as demonstrated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Seroconversion occurred in several sheep challenged with T. spiralis nativa even though larvae were not recovered from the musculature by pepsin-digestion.