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?