Effect of Albendazole and Mebendazole on Hydatid Cyst of Mice

In the current study, hydatid cysts from livers and lungs of camels were obtained from Tambool slaughter house and protoscoleces were separated aseptically. 36-weeks-old Swiss mice (25 - 30 gram body weight males and females) were divided into two groups of 6 each: a prophylactic group dosed with 150 ml/kg of albendazole and mebendazole was given directly after injection with 2000 protoscoleces intraperitoneally for 10 consecutive days. The treated group was given a dose of 300 ml/kg of albendazole and mebendazole for 24 days with 4 days interval separated by 2 days and after 6 months of inoculation with protoscoleces, the two groups in addition to the control group were sacrificed and necropsied. The results revealed a significant difference in the development of hydatid cyst (p < 0.01). Inside the mice, small number of cysts was noticed in the group treated with albendazole and mebendazole compared to the control group, however, albendazole was highly efficacious than the mebendazole where the efficiency of albendazole reached 97% while the mebendazole efficiency rate was almost 50% which indicates that albendazole could be considered the drug of choice in the treatment of hydatid cyst.