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
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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
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