Effect of orally administered monoclonal antibody on persistent Cryptosporidium parvum infection in scid mice.

Scid mice, persistently infected after exposure to 10(7) Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts, were treated daily for 14 to 17 days with 0.4 mg of monoclonal antibody (mAb) 17.41 administered by the oral route. Mice receiving mAb 17.41 shed significantly fewer (P < 0.005) C. parvum oocysts than scid mice receiving isotype control mAb. Intestinal (but not gastric) infectivity scores were also reduced for scid mice treated with mAb 17.41 (P < 0.01).