In vivo culture of Cryptosporidium oocysts for laboratory use.

In the present study, we describe in vivo cultivation to produce oocysts. Seven-day-old mice were orally infected with 100,000-120,000 Cryptosporidium oocysts. On day 8 post-infection, the mice were killed by ether, and the small and large intestines collected. A simple extraction procedure was used and purified using Ficoll gradient centrifugation. After purification, the oocysts were preserved in phosphate buffered saline with antibiotic at 4 degrees C before use.