Cryptosporidium parvum
Maureen NdambukiVeranja LiyanarachchiEvalyne Njeri
CLASSIFICATION
Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Chromalveota Superphylum:Alveolata Phylum: Apicomplexa
Class: conoidasida Subclass: Coccidiasina Order: Eucoccidiarida Suborder: Eimeriorina Family: Cryptosporidiiae
Genus:Cryptosporidium
Species C. parvum
HOSTS
Definitive hosts: Not host specific but able to infect mammals e.g. humans
Intermediate: None Reservoir: calves, sheep, fish, birds,
turkeys
Cryptosporidium parvum
Protozoan parasite of phylum apicomplexa Apicomplexans are a large group of eukaryotic
organisms that are unicellular spore forming parasites of humans
Small cocci (2μm-6μm) Opportunistic parasite Zoonotic-found in many mammalian species
including cows, birds, reptiles, fishes and also humans
Causes acute short term infection in humans Affects the hosts gastrointestinal and
respiratory epithelial cells
Epidemiology
Infection occurs through fecal oral contamination. Human-human Animal-human waterborne
Causes Cryptosporodiasis which is watery diarrhea
Morphological forms
1. Oocysts=infective stage2. Sporozoites= infective and
diagnostic-each contains one
nucleus3. Trophozoite4. Type 1 meront5. Type II meront6. Microgamont7. Macrogamont
Oocysts
4μ-5μ microns wide One oocyst contains 4 fusiform
sporozoites Infective for 2-6 months in the
enviroment Are released with fecal matter
during onset of the symptoms They are shed 5 days after
infection Incubation period is between
1-14 days
Clinical symptoms
Can be asymptomatic thus go undetected
Watery diarrhea Abdominal cramps Nausea Low grade fever Dehydration Weight loss
Target group
Healthy individuals Young children Immunocompromised e.g. Aids and HIV
Drinking dirty water leads to
Complications
Severe dehydration leading to death Pancreatitis Hypertrophic gastritis Respiratory tract infections (AIDS
patients)
Geographic prevalence
This parasite is found worldwide mostly in warm climates
First human case was reported in 1976 1993, waterborne outbreak in
Milwaukee that affected more than 400,000 people who died in 2 weeks due to contamination of water treatment plants
http://animal.discovery.com/videos/monsters-inside-me-cryptosporidium-outbreak.html
Geographic distribution
Diagnosis
Oocysts found in fecal sample This is done through floatation in
formalin-ethyl acetate and hypertonic sodium chloride followed by ziehl-Neelson staining method
Pathogenesis
In AIDS patients Profuse watery diarrhea lasting
several months with 6-25 bowel movements per day
Severe dehydration which could lead to death
In other immunocompromised/immunocompetent patients infection is less severe. some have no symptoms while others
have less frequent diarrhea and abdominal cramps lasting 1-10days
Treatment
Healthy people with strong immune system recover without treatment
Nitazoxamide-most effective paromomycin Drinking plenty of fluids Fluid therapy for babies Anti-retroviral therapy for Aids patients Anti-motility drugs Adding electrolytes to body e.g. drinking
getorade
Control
Water filtration and purification Boiling water Washing vegetables and fruits Bottled water for travellers Water inspection/analysis Wash hands after using the bathroom or
handling fecal material Iodized water Avoiding sexual practices that involve
fecal oral contact
Review Questions 1. What are the two morphological forms? 2. What are the three modes of transmission for
cryptosporidium? 3. How does cryptosporidium enter the body? 4. Name the definitive and intermediate host 5. What are the symptoms of the disease?
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