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The infection of young albino mice by the intraperitoneal injection of viable hydatid protoscolices provided a suitable model for the investigation of the factors controlling the subsequent host immune response. Antibodies detectable by haemagglutination and complement fixation appeared around the 14th week after infection. Increases in antibody titres were related to the potency of the antigenic impulse(s) produced by the healthy germinal membrane and viable protoscolices. Our results suggest that qualitative and quantitative variations in excretory, secretory and somatic antigens, occurring during the different phases of parasite development, incite the production of a multitude of antibodies, only a few of which are detectable by conventional methods.

Cetrimide (R) has been efficiently assessed against hydatid protoscolices as a scolicidal adjunct to hydatid surgery. It was tested in four concentrations (0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 1%) against the protoscolices of hydatid cysts in sheep and cattle and in 0.1% concentration against the protoscolices of hydatid cysts in humans. For each concentration, three incubations of one, five and 10 min exposure were tested in vitro and in vivo on sheep and cattle cysts, and two successive incubations each of five min exposure on human cysts. All experiments resulted in rapid mortality of the protoscolices, as judged by their loss of motility, readiness to take vital stains and inability to develop into secondary hydatid cysts when inoculated into albino mice. The low toxicity of Cetrimide (R), its rapid action against the protoscolices, its scolicidal effect at a low concentration, and its low degree of absorption by the host tissues make it the most promising drug in hydatid surgery, displaying no side effects on the host.

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