Intestinal Parasitism in the United States: Update on a Continuing Problem

Kappus, Karl D.; Lundgren, Raymond G.; Juranek, Dennis D.; Roberts, Jacqueline M.; Spencer, Harrison C.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1994.50.705

Cited by 129 publications

(57 citation statements)

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“…Both parasites are transmitted through fecal-oral routes (9,10,26,32), by consumption of contaminated food or water (9,18,30,32,33), or by sexual transmission (33). They cause common intestinal waterborne diseases in the United States (6,20,21,31). Contraction of the diseases is more frequent among younger children, and they especially pose a threat to immune systemcompromised individuals (1,3,19,31,33).…”

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Evaluation of a Screening Test for Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium Parasites

2009

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Evaluation of a Screening Test for Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium Parasites

2009

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“…The specificities of the ColorPAC immunoassay for Giardia and Cryptosporidium detection were 100 and 99.5%, respectively, and those for the ProSpecT assay were 98.4 and 98.6%, respectively. The false-positive reactions with the ProSpecT assay occurred with specimens that were grossly bloody.Giardia lamblia is the most common intestinal parasite in the United States, infecting approximately 2.5 million persons per year (1,9,15,16). Infection with this organism, which usually occurs through the ingestion of contaminated water, results in watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and malabsorption that may last from weeks to months (2,18,24,30).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Giardia lamblia is the most common intestinal parasite in the United States, infecting approximately 2.5 million persons per year (1,9,15,16). Infection with this organism, which usually occurs through the ingestion of contaminated water, results in watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and malabsorption that may last from weeks to months (2,18,24,30).…”

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Evaluation of ColorPAC Giardia/Cryptosporidium Rapid Assay and ProSpecT Giardia/Cryptosporidium Microplate Assay for Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in Fecal Specimens

et al. 2001

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Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in clinical stool specimens using the ColorPAC and ProSpecT enzyme immunoassays revealed 98.7% agreement for Giardia detection and 98.1% agreement for Cryptosporidium detection. Sensitivities were uniformly 100%. The specificities of the ColorPAC immunoassay for Giardia and Cryptosporidium detection were 100 and 99.5%, respectively, and those for the ProSpecT assay were 98.4 and 98.6%, respectively. The false-positive reactions with the ProSpecT assay occurred with specimens that were grossly bloody.Giardia lamblia is the most common intestinal parasite in the United States, infecting approximately 2.5 million persons per year (1,9,15,16). Infection with this organism, which usually occurs through the ingestion of contaminated water, results in watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and malabsorption that may last from weeks to months (2,18,24,30). Another important intestinal parasite, particularly for patients with advanced AIDS, which may be transmitted through contaminated water is Cryptosporidium parvum (3,5,14,19,25). Although sporadic disease is more common for these infections, both G. lamblia and C. parvum have also been shown to cause outbreaks involving day care centers (24, 31).The traditional method for the detection of these organisms is a microscopic examination of stool preparations for the cysts and trophozoites of Giardia and for the oocysts of Cryptosporidium (12). This, however, requires a considerable amount of time and a medical technologist who is well-versed in the identification of fecal parasites (12,13,21,22). Traditional methods may be insufficient to demonstrate the presence of organisms and when used nonjudiciously are costly (4,6,8,11,12,21,22,33). Fortunately, over the past decade a variety of highly sensitive and specific enzyme immunoassays have been developed that detect the antigens of Giardia and Cryptosporidium (7, 10-13, 17, 23, 26, 27-29, 31). These have become widely accepted as methods for screening stools for the presence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium (6,20,25,32). We have evaluated two commercially available enzyme immunoassays, the ProSpecT Giardia/Cryptosporidium Microplate Assay (Alexon-Trend, Inc., Ramsey, Minn.) and the ColorPAC Giardia/Cryptosporidium Rapid Assay (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, Md.), for the ability to detect G. lamblia and C. parvum, in archived and routinely obtained clinical stool specimens.Archived and routinely obtained clinical stool specimens fixed in 10% formalin were tested using the ColorPAC Giardia/Cryptosporidium Rapid Assay and the ProSpecT Giardia/ Cryptosporidium Microplate Assay. All of the stool specimens tested were patient samples fixed in both 10% formalin and polyvinyl alcohol; none of the specimens were spiked with organism. Two hundred and forty-one stool specimens were tested for the presence of G. lamblia and C. parvum. Fortyseven of the stool specimens tested were archived. The archived specimens were not more than 5 months from the date of collection. Tests were performed according to th...

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“…Pathological gastrointestinal iron loss through gastrointestinal bleeding occurs in infants and children sensitive to cow's milk and in adults who have peptic ulcer disease, inflammatory bowel syndrome, or bowel cancer. Hookworm infections, although not common in the United States (26 ), are also associated with gastrointestinal blood loss and iron depletion (27 ).…”

Section: Iron Turnover and Lossmentioning

confidence: 99%

The prevalence of anaemia depends on the definition: an example from the Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study

Mackerras

Singh

2006

Eur J Clin Nutr

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Intestinal Parasitism in the United States: Update on a Continuing Problem

Cited by 129 publications

References 0 publications

Evaluation of a Screening Test for Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium Parasites

Evaluation of a Screening Test for Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium Parasites

Evaluation of ColorPAC Giardia/Cryptosporidium Rapid Assay and ProSpecT Giardia/Cryptosporidium Microplate Assay for Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in Fecal Specimens

The prevalence of anaemia depends on the definition: an example from the Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study

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