Repeated Low-Level Infection of White-Tailed Deer with Parelaphostrongylus andersoni

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Abstract
Two white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were given 5 infective larvae of P. andersoni each weekday for 13 wk. At 23 wk 1 of these deer and a control were challenged with single doses of 200 third-stage larvae. Repeated low-level infection of P. andersoni resulted in a sustained leukocytosis with an absolute eosinophilia which declined only after administration of larvae ceased, partial failure of worms to become established in the musculature, reduced numbers and reduced viability of eggs in the lungs, and an apparent active immunity which enabled the deer to resist challenge. Wild deer may become infected with P. andersoni by isolated chance encounters with infected gastropods.

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