Cryptosporidium volunteer study: Estimating oocyst burden in waste water
Abstract
Cryptosporidium infections cause diarrheal illness in humans and chronic disease in immunocompromised individuals. Some infections can lead to community outbreaks from secondary transmission. This study describes the infectivity, as measured by oocyst excretion, of four species of Cryptosporidium and factors associated with infectivity in humans using data from the Cryptosporidium Volunteer Study. Cryptosporidium species was the only factor significantly associated with oocyst excretion. Cryptosporidium parvum was found to have the lowest level of oocyst excretion. Cryptosporidium hominis was found to have the highest oocyst excretion of the four species studied. This high level of oocyst excretion may explain why C. hominis has been associated with community outbreaks.
Subject Area
Environmental Health|Public health|Parasitology|Epidemiology
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Eva, "Cryptosporidium volunteer study: Estimating oocyst burden in waste water" (2014). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI1569942.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI1569942