This study was carried out to investigate how pinworm infection in rats affects nutrient digestibility in the hosts. Twenty-four male outbred Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups of 12 rats each. The rats from the first group (GI) were kept in cages with bedding containing pinworm eggs, and the second (control) group (GII) were kept in a separate room in clean, uncontaminated filter-top cages. The animals were put into individual metabolic cages later. Metabolic trials lasted five days and records of animal weight, food ingestion, and faecal weight were taken daily. Based on laboratory analysis of the feed and faecal nutrient content, digestibility values were determined. On day 15 of the experiment, the animals were euthanized. Although Syphacia muris were found in all rats from the GI group, animals exhibited no clinical signs. In our experiment, S. muris infection reduced the overall digestibility of all measured nutrients (P < 0.01). The most significant differences in digestibility were observed in the case of crude fibre and mineral matter (P < 0.01).

Department of Laboratory Animal Breeding and Hygiene Institute of Physiology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic

Department of Microbiology Nutrition and Dietetics Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Zoology and Fisheries Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Zoology Fisheries Hydrobiology and Apiculture Faculty of Agronomy Mendel University in Brno Brno Czech Republic

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