Data on the efficacy of Echinococcus multilocularis cryopreservation and subsequent protoscolex development in cotton rats and infectivity in dogs.

This dataset presents information on the viability of cryopreserved Echinococcus multilocularis (the Nemuro strain, Alaskan lineage) stored in liquid nitrogen. Protoscoleces and cyst residues were obtained from cotton rats experimentally infected with parasite eggs in the laboratory. These materials were mixed with a sperm cryopreservation solution and frozen in liquid nitrogen for one month. The viability of the cryopreserved material was evaluated by intraperitoneal injection into cotton rats, follows by the observation of cyst and protoscolex development within the peritoneal cavity at four months post-infection. The experiment was conducted independently on three separate occasions using two E. multilocularis strains (Nemuro and European strains). In total, E. multilocularis cysts were detected in 18 of the 20 inoculated cotton rats. Furthermore, the development of protoscoleces was observed in the cysts that developed in all animals. The protoscoleces purified from the cysts formed within the peritoneal cavity of a cotton rat were administered orally to a beagle dog, and the presence of parasite eggs in the feces was monitored. Consequently, parasite eggs were detected in the feces between days 30-35 post-infection. This confirms that the protoscoleces obtained from cryopreserved material can serve as an infection source for the definitive host. The methods described in this study will allow for the simple maintenance of E. multilocularis strains with minimal animal use and reduced costs.