Serological and histopathological studies on experimental cryptosporidiosis

ABSTRACT

120 albino rats were orally infected with Cryptosporidium oocyts isolated from diarrheal malnourished children in order to study the effect of the duration of infection on the pathology, extent of infection in the intestine and the antibody response in the sera. Small segments from different levels of the gut were processed for histological examination and cryostat sectioning. The sera of these rats were subjected to serological study using cryostat sections as antigen in the indirect immunofluorescence [IIF] test. The study declared that the duration of infection has no effect on the extent of infection. But the severity of the pathological changes and the grades of seropositivity in the sera varied with the duration of infection being maximum on the 15th day of infection. The possible role of the humoral immunity in clearance and protection from infection was discussed