For evaluation of the prevalence of Cryptosporidium sp. infection in diarrheic and non-diarrheic humans in Iran, fecal specimens from diarrheic (n = 129) and non-diarrheic humans (n = 271) were collected and examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts. The presence of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts was determined by Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast staining. Humans were grouped according to their age as follows: younger than 15, 16-25, 26-35, 36-50, and over 51 years. The results showed that the overall prevalence of infection in all 400 samples was 10.8%, but the prevalence (25.6%) in diarrheic humans was higher than that (3.7%) in non-diarrheic humans. Oocysts of Cryptosporidium sp. were detected in the feces of 21.4%, 9.3%, 8.8%, 6.7% and 5.7% of different age groups, respectively. The intensity of oocysts was significantly higher in diarrheic humans than in non-diarrheic ones. There was a significant association between Cryptosporidium sp. infection and occurrence of diarrhea (P < 0.05). The results indicate that Cryptosporidium sp. infection is prevalent in diarrheic humans in Iran.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Animals ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cryptosporidiosis/*epidemiology/parasitology/pathology ; Cryptosporidium/*isolation & purification ; Diarrhea/*epidemiology/parasitology ; Feces/parasitology ; Histocytochemistry ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Iran/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Oocysts ; Prevalence

Cryptosporidium diarrhea represents a relevant clinical problem in developing countries. In Al-Taif, a city of Saudi Arabia that lies at an altitude of an around 2 km above the sea level, Cryptosporidium infection seems to be undiagnosed in nearly all clinical laboratories. Furthermore, nothing was published regarding Cryptosporidium-associated diarrhea in this area. The objectives of this research were to (1) determine the Cryptosporidium prevalence among patients with diarrhea and (2) to estimate the performances of 3 different diagnostic methods. Total 180 diarrheal fecal samples, 1 sample per patient, were collected between January and August 2013. Samples were screened for Cryptosporidium with modified Zeihl Neelsen (ZN) microscopy, RIDA(R) Quick lateral flow (LF) immunotest, and a previously published PCR. The Cryptosporidium prevalence rate was 9.4% (17/180), 10% (18/180), and 11.6% (21/180) by microscopy, LF, and PCR test, respectively. Infection was significantly (P=0.004) predominant among children <5 years (22%) followed by children 5-9 years (11.1%). Although infection was higher in males than in females (16.2% males and 8.5% females), the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.11). Compared to PCR, the sensitivity of microscopy and the LF test were 80.9%, 85.7%, respectively. To conclude, high Cryptosporidium-associated diarrhea was found in this area especially in children < or =9 years. The PCR test showed the best performance followed by the LF test and ZN staining microscopy. The primary health care providers in Al-Taif need to be aware of and do testing for this protozoon, particularly for children seen with diarrhea.
Adolescent ; Adult ; *Altitude ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cryptosporidiosis/*epidemiology ; Cryptosporidium/*isolation & purification ; Diarrhea/epidemiology/*parasitology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Saudi Arabia/epidemiology ; Young Adult

Cyclospora cayetanensis is a foodborne and waterborne pathogen that causes endemic and epidemic human diarrhea worldwide. A few epidemiological studies regarding C. cayetanensis infections in China have been conducted. During 2013, a total of 291 stool specimens were collected from patients with diarrhea at a hospital in urban Shanghai. C. cayetanensis was not detected in any of the stool specimens by traditional microscopy, whereas five stool specimens (1.72%, 5/291) were positive by PCR. These positive cases confirmed by molecular technology were all in the adult group (mean age 27.8 years; 2.94%, 5/170) with watery diarrhea. Marked infection occurred in the rainy season of May and July. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the partial 18S rRNA genes of C. cayetanensis isolated showed intra-species diversity of this parasite. This study showed, for the first time, that C. cayetanensis is a pathogen in outpatients with diarrhea in Shanghai, albeit at a low level. However, the transmission dynamics of this parasite in these patients remain uncertain.
Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Cyclospora ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Cyclosporiasis ; epidemiology ; Diarrhea ; etiology ; parasitology ; Feces ; parasitology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Outpatients ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S ; analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

The first case of human cryptosporidiosis was reported in Korea in 1995; however, an outbreak of Cryptosporidium has not been reported in Korea until now. This paper describes the first outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Korea. On May 24, 2012, a local public health center filed a report on 126 residents with gastrointestinal symptoms in an old apartment complex in Seoul. Epidemiological investigations were implemented on 125 of the 126 patients. The patients were reported continuously over a period of 22 days. Diarrhea was the most common clinical symptom, and lasted for 5 days on average. The tap water was the only common exposure of the patients. During the environmental investigation it was discovered that the water and septic tanks were situated closely and that the waste water pipes were corroded where they passed over the water pipes. Cryptosporidium parvum was detected in 3 of the 7 stool specimens by PCR-RFLP. A number of Cryptosporidium oocysts were also detected in the water specimens from the water tank. In conclusion, Cryptosporidium parvum was the key causal pathogen of this outbreak. It is presumed that the tap water was contaminated by a sewage leak from the aged pipelines.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cryptosporidiosis/*epidemiology/parasitology ; Cryptosporidium parvum/*isolation & purification ; Diarrhea/parasitology ; *Disease Outbreaks ; Drinking Water/*parasitology ; Female ; Food Contamination ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Public Health ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Sewage/parasitology ; Young Adult

The present study investigated the prevalence rate of Cryptosporidium parvum as a cause of diarrhea. We examined 942 stools of unidentified reasons occurring in patients in whom no immunosuppression had been detected. We examined the stools for Cryptosporidium parvum via modified acid-fast staining. The clinical records of all of the positive patients were then analyzed. Nine (1%) of the stools among the 942 diarrheal patients were positive for C. parvum. The positive rate in the males was 1.1% (6/522) and the positive rate of the females was 0.7% (3/420). Age distribution revealed that the highest positive rates were in patients in their sixties, with a positive rate of 2.5% (4/158). In the clinical tests, levels of c-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, and neutrophil proportions were normally increased in the peripheral blood, whereas the lymphocyte proportion exhibited a tendency towards decrease. The pathological findings were compatible with an inflammatory reaction in the host.
Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Child, Preschool ; Cryptosporidiosis/*epidemiology/immunology ; *Cryptosporidium/isolation & purification ; Cryptosporidium parvum/isolation & purification ; Diarrhea/*epidemiology/immunology/parasitology ; Feces/parasitology ; Female ; HIV Seronegativity ; Humans ; Immunocompetence ; Korea/epidemiology ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Staining and Labeling