University of South Florida, Division of Comparative Medicine, Cryptosporidiosis

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Cryptosporidiosis

Prevention
Appropriate personal hygiene practices should be effective in preventing the spread of infection. No pharmacological treatment is effective for this infection. Handwashing is the first line of defense. This disease occurs periodically among animal care staff. It is very important that the information provided in the link below is made available to all personnel working with research animals.

CDC Cryptosporidiosis Information Page

Cryptosporidium are common protozoans that cause enteritis and diarrhea in a number of domestic species.

Cryptosporidium spp. have a cosmopolitan distribution and have been found in many animal species, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes. Cross-infectivity studies have shown a lack of host specificity for many of the organisms. Among the laboratory animals, lambs, calves, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, dogs, cats, and nonhuman primates can be infected with the organism. Cryptosporidiosis is common in young animals, particularly ruminants and piglets.

Cryptosporidiosis is transmitted by the fecal-oral route and can involve contaminated water, food, and possibly air. Many human cases involve human-to-human transmission or possibly the reactivation of subclinical infections. Several outbreaks of the disease have been associated with surface water contaminants. A 1993 waterborne epidemic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was believed to involve more than 370,000 people. Zoonotic transmission of the disease to animal handlers has been recorded, including a recent report of cryptosporidiosis among handlers of infected infant nonhuman primates.

Although cryptosporidiosis has become identified widely with immunosuppressed people, the ability of the organism to infect immunocompetent people also has been recognized. In humans, the disease is characterized by cramping, abdominal pain, profuse watery diarrhea, anorexia, weight loss, and malaise. Symptoms can wax and wane for up to 30 days, with eventual resolution. However, in immunocompromised persons, the disease can have a prolonged course that contributes to death.

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Comments or Questions: ctrahan@research.usf.edu