Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum antigen by co-agglutination test and ELISA

Confirmation of the presence of Cryptosporidium in environmental samples is laborious, costly and often difficult. We report here a simple and economic slide agglutination test [co-agglutination test] for detecting cryptosporidial antigen in stool, serum and water. The results show that as a screening method co-agglutination is clearly superior to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining, although ELISA is more accurate. The co-agglutination test is recommended for application as a new tool for detecting cryptosporidial antigen in large-scale epidemiological surveys

role intraepithelial lymphocytes in parasite clearance: an ultrastructural study on experimental giardiasis

Ten albino rats infected with Giardia lamblia cysts were used to study the small intestinal mucosal cellular response to Giardia lamblia and the role of the intraepithelial lymphocytes [IELs] in parasite clearance. Five healthy rats were also used as a control group. An ultrastructural study was made. A marked increase in the IELs was noticed at different levels of the intestinal epithelium. They were frequently found surrounded by tissue lysis or degenerated enterocytes. Both direct and antibody mediated cytotoxicity of the migrating IELs to the trophozoites might explain the mechanism of parasite clearance by such cells