Cryptosporidiosis and Other Intestinal Protozoan Infections in Children Less Than One Year of Age in Mexico City

Abstract

Parasitic diseases are very important in Mexico because of their economic impact and adverse effects on normal growth in children. Cryptosporidiosis has been associated with acute diarrhea in immune competent and incompetent human hosts, fecal contamination of drinking water sources, and handling of animals. Due to the lack of reports on cryptosporidiosis in Mexico, we conducted a parasitologic study in children with diarrhea and other clinical symptoms. The main objectives were 1) to determine the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in children less than one year of age in Mexico City, and 2) to correlate Cryptosporidium infection with gastrointestinal symptoms. Two hundred fecal samples from children seen at the Gabriel Mancera Familiar Medicine Unit of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social were studied. Children were divided into two groups. Group A was composed of sick children with 6-8 watery diarrheic episodes every 24 hours attended at the emergency service. Group B was composed of healthy babies getting routine check ups. Only children in group A were found to be infected with intestinal protozoa (50% with Giardia lamblia, 41% with Cryptosporidium spp., and 4% with Entamoeba histolytica). The results suggested a high incidence of Cyrptosporidium infections in children in Mexico City, which make these observations useful for future studies.

Epidemiology of Cryptosporidiosis in North American Travelers to Mexico

“…In this prospective study done in US travelers to Mexico, the incidence of cryptosporidiosis was found to be 6.4%, which was similar to rate of cryptosporidiosis in Mexican children14–16 and comparable to the previous series of travelers with similar characteristics 17,18. Consistent with prior observations, we found that TD was more frequent among subjects who had a longer length of stay, were younger in age, and traveled during the summer season.…”

“…Cryptosporidiosis is a common disease in Mexican children, as evidenced by a study done in infants with severe diarrhea, where 41% were found to be infected with Cryptosporidium 14. In many instances, the infection is asymptomatic, particularly in older children 15,16.…”

Zoonotic Potential and Molecular Epidemiology ofGiardiaSpecies and Giardiasis

“…In various Asian countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam), North America (Cuba, Mexico, and Nicaragua), South America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru), and Africa (northern Africa, west Africa, and South Africa), most of the studies focused on children, and infection rates for G. duodenalis fell into the range of 8% to 30% in the majority of those studies (12,29,56,62,63,65,69,144,160,166,174,184,186,202,203,229,234,237,239,252,253,281). In a few studies, the infection rate was lower than 4% or higher than 30% (65,137,145,230,243,274,280). High infection rates for giardiasis were also reported for adults in developing countries, with rates of 25.1% in pregnant women in Minatitlan, Mexico (224); 11.7% in adults in Settat, Morocco (72); and 5.0 to 14.0% in African refugees and new immigrants in the United States, the Netherlands, and Spain (167).…”

Cryptosporidiosis: a neglected infection and its association with nutritional status in schoolchildren in northwestern Mexico

“…However, human cryptosporidiosis remains neglected in Mexico, and some information is provided only in limited publications. In 2006, a study found cryptosporidiosis in 41% of 100 children under one year of age in south Mexico [11], while in 2010, 16% of 100 patients with diarrhea had cryptosporidiosis in north Mexico [12]. Based on this, we investigated the prevalence of C. parvum and its association with the nutritional status of schoolchildren in northwestern Mexico.…”