Putignani Lorenza, Menichella Donato
Microbiology Unit, Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Scientific Institute, Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy.
Interdiscip Perspect Infect Dis. 2010;2010. doi: 10.1155/2010/753512. Epub 2010 Jul 14.
Cryptosporidium spp. are coccidians, oocysts-forming apicomplexan protozoa, which complete their life cycle both in humans and animals, through zoonotic and anthroponotic transmission, causing cryptosporidiosis. The global burden of this disease is still underascertained, due to a conundrum transmission modality, only partially unveiled, and on a plethora of detection systems still inadequate or only partially applied for worldwide surveillance. In children, cryptosporidiosis encumber is even less recorded and often misidentified due to physiological reasons such as early-age unpaired immunological response. Furthermore, malnutrition in underdeveloped countries or clinical underestimation of protozoan etiology in developed countries contribute to the underestimation of the worldwide burden. Principal key indicators of the parasite distribution were associated to environmental (e.g., geographic and temporal clusters, etc.) and host determinants of the infection (e.g., age, immunological status, travels, community behaviours). The distribution was geographically mapped to provide an updated picture of the global parasite ecosystems. The present paper aims to provide, by a critical analysis of existing literature, a link between observational epidemiological records and new insights on public health, and diagnostic and clinical impact of cryptosporidiosis.
隐孢子虫属是球虫，形成卵囊的顶复门原生动物，通过人畜共患病和人传人传播在人和动物体内完成其生命周期，导致隐孢子虫病。由于其传播方式存在难题，仅部分得以揭示，且众多检测系统仍不完善或仅部分应用于全球监测，该疾病的全球负担仍未完全确定。在儿童中，由于诸如早期免疫反应未配对等生理原因，隐孢子虫病的负担记录更少且常被误诊。此外，欠发达国家的营养不良或发达国家对原生动物病因的临床低估导致全球负担被低估。寄生虫分布的主要关键指标与环境（如地理和时间聚集等）以及感染的宿主决定因素（如年龄、免疫状态、旅行、社区行为）相关。该分布在地理上进行了映射，以提供全球寄生虫生态系统的最新情况。本文旨在通过对现有文献的批判性分析，在观察性流行病学记录与关于公共卫生的新见解以及隐孢子虫病的诊断和临床影响之间建立联系。
