Pamanatasan Lungsod ng Maynila
(University of the City of Manila)
Intramuros, Manila

PARASITIC INFECTION: Cryptosporidiosis

INTRODUCTION

Cryptosporidiosis (Crypto) is caused by the protozoa Cryptosporidium, respectively. Cryptosporidiosis is an illness caused by a parasite. Cryptosporidium is carried in animal intestines and can cause waterborne diseases. Cryptosporidium is carried in animal intestines and can cause waterborne disease. Cryptosporidiosis is characterized by severe, prolonged diarrhea that may last for several months or years, The parasite lives in soil, food and water. It may also be on surfaces that have been contaminated with waste. You can become infected if you swallow the parasite. Most people with crypto get better with no treatment, but crypto can cause serious problems in people with weak immune systems such as in people with HIV/AIDS. To reduce your risk of crypto, wash your hands often, avoid water that may be infected, and wash or peel fresh fruits and vegetables before eating. A protozoan that can infect cats, dogs, cattle, sheep, and humans, is usually transmitted by the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat, blood transfusion, transplancental infection of the fetus, on inhalation of dust contaminated with cat droppings. Although most of cases of toxoplasmosis in nonimmunisuppressed individuals are asymptomatic, the disease can result in massive lesions of the brain, liver, lungs, and other organs in AIDS patients.

MORPHOLOGY
According to Bhoi’s Basics of Microbiology (2008) that Cryptosporidium parvum is a small round parasite measuring 3 to 5 micrometers which live in the intestine of humans and animals cause epidemic of diarrhea in most of the humans thru contaminated water and food. Humans were infected by the C. parvum oocysts. The Cryptosporidium spp., having the smallest oocysts of all known enteric protozoa, may be difficult to detect under routine fecal examination. Also, water analysis is important knowing that cryptosporidiosis can be transmitted through water.

CAUSE AND SYMPTOMS
According to Schmial G. and Robert’s Foundation of Parasitology (2000) Cryptosporidium known as an opportunistic parasite of human especially young children, of both those who are immunodeficient and those who are immunocompetent, it commonly occurs in patient with AIDS and a contriously lactin in the deaths of some AIDS-infected patients. Recently, Cryptosporiodiosis was considered to be an infection in animals rather than humans. Crytosporidium was first described by tyzzer, from 1907 until 1975. 19 species names have been proposed, but Levine considers valid only C. muris in mammals in mammals, C. meleagidis in birds, C. crotali in uptiks, and C. nasoeum in fishes, although most of the human isolates are now called as C. parvum. Having 15 reports describing Crytospoisidium infection is eight species of animals. It includes guinea pigs, turkeys, chickens, calves, lambs, and wide variety of pet and zoo animals. It usually lives in the brush border of under the free – surface membrane of the host gastrointestinal or respiratory epithelial cell. They are seen only in the feces, and diagnosis is made using formalin – ethyl acetate and hypertonic sodium chloride flotation followed by 2inel- Nielsen shinning methods Cfuchsin followed b methylene blue) or by use of Giemsa, nigrosin or light green.

As of Domingo et al. demostrates in there journal entitled Human and caprine Cryptosporidiosis among small hold farms in Aurora province (2012), there are certain activities that are associated with a greater chance of exposure to potentially zoonotic pathogens. Having in contact with feces while working in a farm is inevitable and ingestion of infected feces through food borne and waterborne or direct contact with fecal material through fecal-oral route or hand-to-mouth transmission is the main route of transmission for cryptosporidiosis to human. Sources of drinking water become contaminated when feces containing the oocysts are deposited or flushed into water. C. parvum is also waterborne and so other susceptible individuals and man can be infected through ingestion of contaminated water. Interactions between length of experience in goat raising and hand washing and length of experience and herd size were also significantly associated. The only potential risk associated with caprine cryptosporidiosis was long standing diarrhea in the farm.

Furthermore, Raisers with moderate to maximum number of herd size were eight times more likely to get infected as compared to those with minimum number of herd size. Poor manner of garbage disposal with the presence of scavengers predisposes the animal raisers to 2.24 times of acquiring cryptosporidiosis.
Though, it is said that the exact mode of transmission of Cryptosporidium oocysts is unknown, it would again be reasonable to assume that in these communities with human and caprine positive reactors, human-animal contact with subsequent hand-to-mouth transfer of oocysts is a potential source of infection (Laxer et al., 2003)

Atlas’s (1995) posited that Cryptosporidiosis is a disease caused by the protozoan Cryptosporidium parvum that produce diarrhea that can be abundant and last for 3 weeks and it is an infection of individuals with AIDS and as for individual who had AIDS, the diarrhea can be long-lasting and more prolonged, it can also serve as life threatening and dangerous for us. C. parvum has a comple life cycle with both sexual and genderless phases. The cysts provide increase to the non motile sporozoites that invade the epithelial cells which is found in the small intestine. The one that produces the cysts is the sexual reproductions that are found in contaminated feces from infected humans or animals. Crypto is not spread by contact with blood (Microorganims in our world p. 685).

Moreover, According to an article by Cabada of International Society for Infectious Diseases and International Society of Travel Medicine (2013) the Cryptosporidiosis disease is spread thru fecal-oral route from the infected host. Most its sporadic infection occur through person-to-person or direct contact. However it can also transmitted thru animal contact, intake of water for example during swimming, or through eating of foods. Widespread waterborne transmission epidemic have resulted from the infected or contaminated public water supply and recreational water like for example swimming pools, ponds, lake.

In Addition, From theory on bounded rationality, the symptoms of Cryptosporidiosis are the following copious watery diarrhea, stomach cramps or pain, flatulence, and weight loss. Some people with Cryptosporidiosis will have no symptoms at all. While the small intestine is the site most commonly affected, Cryptosporidiosis infections could possibly affect other areas of the digestive tract or the respiratory tract. (Bhoi 2008).

TREATMENT
As Schmial and Robert’s Foundation of Parasitology (2000), demonstrated that profuse, watery diarrhea that last for several months with a bowel movement frequency ranges from 6 to 25 per day and the maximal stool volume range from 1 to 19 liters per day, may be allowed in patient with AIDS.
Furthermore, in recent research, it shows that nitozoxanide is effective against Cryptosporidium diarrhea, including AIDS patients’ ad intestinal parasites including amoebas, tapeworms, and rematodes.

As has been shown, hand washing with soap and water, although delayed, was observed to have a protective function to minimize if not to eliminate the risk factors for the transmission of the infection. So they recommend that goat raisers should practice farm sanitation, personal hygiene, and provide proper attention and medication to diarrheic animals in order to prevent cryptosporidiosis among goats and eventually prevent the goat raisers from getting the infection from their animals as well. Hand washing with soap and water, although delayed, was observed to have a protective function to minimize if not to eliminate the risk factors for the transmission of the infection. And Diarrhea can be managed by drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration (Domingo et al. 2012).

EPIDEMIOLOGY
According to Schmial G. and Robert’s Foundation of Parasitology (2000) there is a study that Infection is by fecal-oral contamination. A number of animals can serve as reservoirs of infection. Current and his co-workers experimentally infected kittens, puppies, and goats with oocysts from an immunodeficient person. They also infected calves and mice using oocysts from infected calves and humans. Finally, they diagnosed 12 infected immunocompetent persons who worked closely with calves that were infected with Cryptosporidium. Thus, cryptosporidiosis should be considered a zoonosis and, in fact, may be fairly common cause of short-term diarrhea in the population. The overall prevalence was less than 5%, in some pens 31% of the cattle were passing oocysts. Cryptosporidium infections illustrate the manner in which discovery of a medical problem can suddenly focus on organisms obscure and rare. We have learned that cryptosporidiosis is a serious problem most especially in the warmer parts of the world, and it may be one of the three most common causative agents of chronic diarrhea in humans.

Additionally, Atlas’s (1995) overstated there also a study about Cryptosporidium contaminates water supply in the ear 1993, the municipal water supply of Milwaukee was the main foundation of Cryptosporidium therefore almost all residents of Milwaukee developed diarrhea and before they knew that they’re contaminated and infected. After the citizens were alarmed, they implement a caution to reduce or to stop immediately drinking water. The identification process usually takes a week, so that the water is consumed long before the pathogenic protozoan is detected. Milwauuke’s case was probably originated and its source of infection was from farm excess carrying protozoa from the infected animals. It says that Milwaukee is not the only city to experience severe outbreaks of diarrheal disease due to Cryptosporidium, and this city is not isolated. In the year 1987, Georgia also involve in this situation that took 13,000 of its residents whose developed diarrhea because of Cryptosporidiosis (p. 685, Disease caused by protozoa).

REFERENCES

WEBSITE
Villanueva, M., Domingo C., Abes, N., & Mingala. C. (2009) Incidence And Risk Factors Of Cryptosporidium Spp. Infection In Water Buffaloes Confined In A Communal Management System In The Philippines. The Internet Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 8(1). Retrieved from http://ispub.com/IJVM/8/1/7673
Domingo, C. Y. J., Dionision, R. D. C., Lanzanida, G. C. & Corales, R. M. I. (2012). Human and caprine Cryptosporidiosis among small hold farms in Aurora province. Philippines Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Philippines, 38(1), 53 – 62. Retrieved from http://journals.uplb.edu.ph/index.php/PJVAS/article/view/734/673
Cabada M. M. (2013, April 25). Cryptosporidiosis species. International Society for Infectious Diseases and International Society of Travel Medicine. From Medscape website: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/215490-overview#showall