The Effect of Body Temperature on the Development of Trichinella spiralis in Bats

Abstract

Any attempt to determine the in vivo temperature tolerance of a parasite would be limited by the temperature tolerance of the host. Most mammalian species have a narrow body temperature range. Hibernating mammals provide a striking exception and undergo drastic seasonal variations in body temperature. The temperature variations tolerated by bats are greater than those of other hibernators, since their body temperature drops to within a few degrees of ambient temperature whenever they are inactive. (Hock, 1951; Lyman and Chatfield, 1955) In the experiments reported here, an attempt was made to define the temperature tolerance of Trichinella spiralis by following the course of experimental infections in bats held at different temperatures. Preliminary experiments (Chute and Covalt, 1958) indicated the parasite would develop to the adult stage in the intestines of bats held at 34 C, but not in bats at 23 C or 5 C.