Cryptosporidium spp. (probably C. parvum)
Cryptosporidium spp.
Images:
Life cycle:
http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/Crypto01.html
Stages:
http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/Apicomplexa07.html
Phylogeny:
Phylum Apicomplexa
Preferred definitive host:
Difficult to determine since there are 10 named species among humans, birds,
and other mammals.
Reservoir hosts:
Oocysts taken from an immunodeficient person were used to infect kittens,
puppies and goats.
Vector/intermediate host:
None
Geographical location:
Cosmopolitan
Organs affected:
Small intestine
Symptoms and clinical signs:
Among immunocompetent individuals, it causes a self-limiting diarrhea and
abdominal cramps lasting 1 to 10 days. However, it causes a profuse, watery
diarrhea among immunosuppressed (AIDS) which can persist for months and be
life-threatening.
Treatment:
No effective drug treatment has been found yet.
From CNN.com, August 23, 2005:
Illness traced to
2,000 people have reported symptoms
From
Debra Goldschmidt
CNN
Tuesday,
August 23, 2005; Posted: 9:25 a.m. EDT (13:25 GMT)
|
|
|
State and private laboratories
have confirmed 39 cases of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease caused by the
parasite cryptosporidium, said Robert Kenny, spokesman for the New York State
Department of Health. Reports were still coming in, and health officials are
focusing on trying to stop the outbreak from spreading, he said. Health investigators have linked the cases to
the park's sprayground -- an 11,000 square-foot play area with water jets that
visitors can walk or run through to get relief from the summer heat. The state parks department closed the
sprayground August 15 after the health department notified managers that they
had linked reports of illness to the attraction.
Cryptosporidium is one of the
most common causes of waterborne disease in humans in the
Cryptosporidiosis symptoms
typically begin two to 10 days after exposure and usually last for two weeks,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common symptom is diarrhea, but
other symptoms may include dehydration, stomach cramps, weight loss, fever,
nausea and vomiting.
Some of those reporting symptoms
to the health department said their symptoms dated as far back as June, but
there were no known cases reported in other states. Many of those sickened have
recovered, according to the health department.
Authorities urged anyone who has
visited the park since late July and is having symptoms to contact their local
health department or their physician. Family members and close contacts of people
who have been ill and are experiencing symptoms should do the same. People who have had symptoms are advised not
to swim in recreational water -- including swimming pools, hot tubs and lakes
-- while they are ill and for two weeks after their symptoms have ended in an
effort to prevent spreading of the disease.
Health care workers, day care staff and food workers with symptoms are
urged to stay home from work until they feel better.
From Reuters.com, July 31, 2007
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NOTE: To view the article with Web enhancements, go to:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/560550
Contaminated
Recreational Water a Growing Cause of Cryptosporidiosis Outbreaks
Reuters
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around the world.
Cryptosporidium
is the leading cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks associated with treated
recreational water venues - including swimming pools and "aquatic
entertainment facilities typically containing water slides, wave pools, 'lazy
rivers,' or interactive fountains."
Five
of the 2006 outbreaks are described in the July 27th issue of the Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report. The venues were a community water park, a day camp
with a swimming pool, a water spray park, a local reservoir, and multiple
similar locations.
Public
health officials requested that owners of implicated sources use
hyperchlorination to remove the protozoa and its oocysts. Cryptosporidium
protozoa and their oocysts are resistant to normal recommended levels of
chlorine disinfection.
Public
health officials at the CDC advise that "a multifaceted approach for
prevention of cryptosporidiosis in treated water venues must address
operational, technological, and behavioral factors related to recreational
water use."
Risk
reduction will require enhanced disinfection practices, which may include
in-line ultraviolet radiation or ozone systems, as well as "increased
circulation flow rates, flocculents, remedial biocidal shock treatments (e.g.,
routine hyperchlorination: 20 ppm for 8 hours or equivalent), and occupancy-dependent
water replacement."
Public
education may be even more important in preventing outbreaks. The CDC
recommends refraining from swimming when experiencing a diarrheal illness and
for the following 2 weeks, not swallowing pool water, and practicing proper
hygiene.
More
information can be accessed at www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming
Mor Mortal Wkly Rep CDC Surveill Summ
2007;56:729-732.