Successful Experimental Infant Baboon Model for Childhood Cryptosporidiosis Studies

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Abstract Background: Cryptosporidiosis causes high morbidity and fatality to children under two years globally. The lack of an appropriate animal model that mimics the pathogenesis of disease in humans has hampered the development and testing of potential therapeutic options. This study aimed to develop and validate an infant baboon infection model of cryptosporidiosis.Methods: Eighteen immunocompetent weaned infant baboons aged 12 to 16 months were used. The animals were: n=3 controls and three experimental groups of n=5 animals each inoculated with Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts as follows: Group 1: 2x104, Group 2: 2x105, Group 3: 2x106 followed by daily fecal sampling for oocysts evaluation. Blood sampling for immunological assay was done on infection day and thereafter weekly until the end of the experiment followed by necropsy and histopathology. Statistical analysis was done using R, statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) and Graph Pad Prism software. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni post-hoc tests were used for comparison of the means, with p<0.05 considered as a significant difference. Correlation coefficient and Probit analysis were also performed.Results: In all experimental animals but not controls, the onset of oocysts shedding occurred between days 2 and 4, with the highest oocyst shedding occurring between days 6 and 28. Histological analysis revealed parasites establishment only in infected animals. Levels of cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-10) significantly increased in experimental groups compared to controls. Conclusion: 2x104 oocysts were an effective minimum quantifiable experimental infection dose for developing a reproducible infant baboon model.

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