Cryptosporidiosis is a major zoonotic health problem especially in immunocompromised hosts.
The current study investigated the effect of Daflon (DFL) as an alternative therapy or combined
with Nitazoxanide (NTZ) against cryptosporidiosis in immuno-competent and immuno-suppressed
mice. Fifty mice were divided into two major groups: GI included immuno-competent mice
and GII included drug-induced immuno-suppressed mice. Each group of five mice was subdivided
equally into five subgroups. Mice subgroups were either in GI or GII as follows: A: Control
negative neither infected nor treated, B: Control positive C. parvum infected but not treated, C:
C. parvum infected NTZ treated, D: C. parvum infected and DFL treated & E: C. parvum infected
combined treated (NTZ+ DFL). Drug efficacy was done by parasitological, biochemical, histopathological,
and immunohistochemical analysis. All drugs significantly reduced oocysts'
num- ber compared to their counterparts infected mice. There was an increase in SOD and a decrease
in MDA serum levels in mice received combined treatment. Histopathologically, all tissues
in mice received combined treatment more or less retained their normal architecture. Also,
iNOS expression in treated groups turned into weak cytoplasmic expression in all tissues with
the best effect in mice received combined treatment.