Extraintestinal strobilar development of immature Echinococcus multilocularis in laboratory rodents following intratracheal inoculation of the protoscoleces

Intratracheal inoculation of Echinococcus multilocularis protoscoleces was performed in prednisolone tertiary-butylacetate(PTBA)-treated and untreated golden hamsters and AKR/J mice. Repeated PTBA treatments prior to the day of inoculation prevented the influx of neutrophils against the cestode. More than 1 month after infection, living immature adult forms of E. multilocularis, showing some somatic prolongation, were recovered from the pulmonary alveolar space of PTBA-treated golden hamsters, in the absence of any cystic development.