Cryptosporidiosis in developing countries

Abstract

Globally, Cryptosporidium infection continues to be a significant health problem where it is recognized as an important cause of diarrhoea in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent people. In developing countries persistent diarrhoea is the leading cause of death in children younger than five years of age, where it accounts for 30 to 50 percent of those deaths. Encouragingly an increasing number of investigations in developing countries employ molecular tools, significantly improving the quality of epidemiological information. This improved Cryptosporidium monitoring, with appropriate molecular methods, in surface water, livestock, wildlife and humans, will increase current knowledge of infection and transmission patterns, and ultimately help to control Cryptosporidium via improved risk assessments in the future.

First molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium and Giardia from bovines (Bos taurus and Bubalus bubalis) in Sri Lanka: unexpected absence of C. parvum from pre-weaned calves

“…These protozoa are global in their distribution and adversely impact on human health in both developed and developing countries [3,4]. Infections are usually transmitted via the faecal-oral route, following direct or indirect contact with infective stages (oocysts or cysts) [2,3].…”

Selective and Potent Urea Inhibitors of Cryptosporidium parvum Inosine 5′-Monophosphate Dehydrogenase

“…This infection is self-limiting in healthy adult individuals, but can be chronic and fatal in immunocompromised patients and children under 5 years of age 2 . Parasite oocysts are resistant to commonly used methods of water treatment, and contaminated drinking and recreational water are major sources of host to host transmission 3 .…”

“…Genomic analysis revealed that C. parvum and C. hominis rely on the enzyme inosine 5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) for the production of guanine nucleotides 2b, 7 (Scheme 1; Cp IMPDH will be used to denote the parasite enzyme, which is identical in C. parvum and C. hominis ) 8 . Remarkably, these parasites appear to have obtained their IMPDH gene from an ε-proteobacterium by lateral gene transfer 9 .…”

Electrical impedance sensor for quantitative monitoring of infection processes on HCT-8 cells by the waterborne parasite Cryptosporidium

“…Between 2004 and 2010, 60% of worldwide reported outbreaks of diseases due to waterborne parasitic protozoa were Cryptosporidium induced (Baldursson and Karanis, 2011). Cryptosporidiosis outbreaks are present in both developing and industrialized countries (Chalmers, 2012) and can be lethal for immunocompromised or weak patients (Snelling et al, 2007). The largest outbreak took place in 1993 in Milwaukee (US), where 403,000 persons were affected and more than 100 died (Mac Kenzie et al, 1994).…”