Published 19 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4168
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4168

Clinical Review

Cryptosporidiosis

A P Davies, clinical senior lecturer/honorary consultant microbiologist1, R M Chalmers, consultant clinical scientist and head of unit2

1 School of Medicine, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, 2 UK Cryptosporidium Reference Unit, National Public Health Service for Wales, Swansea

Correspondence to: A P Davies angharad.p.davies@swansea.ac.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that has emerged as an important cause of diarrhoeal illness worldwide, particularly in young children and immunocompromised patients. In the UK Cryptosporidium is the commonest protozoal cause of acute gastroenteritis, with 3000-6000 laboratory confirmed cases annually, although this is almost certainly an underestimation of the disease burden. Two species, Cryptosporidium hominis and Cryptosporidium parvum, account for most of these laboratory-confirmed cases. Species distinction between C hominis and C parvum is quite recent and for several years both parasites were referred to as C parvum (sometimes genotypes 1 and 2). Large waterborne outbreaks highlight the parasite’s clinical and economic importance.

The clinical problems associated with Cryptosporidium are increasingly becoming recognised internationally, and the parasite was included in the World Health Organization’s Neglected Diseases Initiative 2004. These neglected diseases are defined as those that "exhibit a considerable and increasing global burden, and impair the ability of those . . . [Full text of this article]


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