A new way to get rid of pinworms

Procedures to eradicate rodent pinworm infestations can be costly and labor-intensive. When an infestation of Aspiculuris tetraptera surfaced at their facility, Hickman and coworkers developed an efficient way to treat the entire affected mouse colony with ivermectin by connecting modified carboys filled with medicated water to the existing automatic watering system. This treatment method effectively eliminated the pinworms and was relatively inexpensive and rapid to implement. See page 308

A review of MNV

A close relative of human norovirus, murine norovirus (MNV) was first isolated in 2003 and has since been shown to be highly prevalent among laboratory mice. Though the virus does not seem to cause disease in normal mice, it can be lethal in certain genetically modified immunocompromised strains. As the first norovirus to grow in cell culture, MNV may provide insight into the mechanisms of human norovirus, which is a common cause of gastroenteritis. Henderson presents an overview of MNV, including the prevalence, pathology and genetic diversity of the virus, and describes existing and developing techniques for its detection and eradication. See page 314

How to gavage a rabbit

Intragastric gavage is a useful technique for oral administration of hazardous substances to animals. Rabbits are considered to be a difficult species in which to carry out this procedure because of their unusual oral anatomy. Martinic describes in detail a method of intragastric gavage in rabbits using a pediatric feeding tube. Researchers at the author's institution used the technique to administer radiolabeled compounds to rabbits in a pilot study of cholesterol efflux. See page 323