Epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in children in tropical countries.

Cryptosporidia are important causative agents of acute diarrhea among children in tropical countries. The leading symptoms are watery diarrhea lasting from 2 to 8 weeks and vomiting accompanied by crampy abdominal pain. Dehydration occurs frequently. The prevalence of cryptosporidia infections is much higher in tropical regions (an average of up to 10%) than in moderate regions. Cryptosporidia infections are dependent both on the children's age (highest rates among children below 2 years of age) and the season. In most studies, the highest incidence was found during the rainy season. Children who were breast-fed showed lower rates of infection. The transmission is fecal- oral, especially from animals to humans, from person to person, but also by way of contaminated drinking water. For an exact description of the epidemiology of cryptosporidia infections in the tropical countries, especially of the transmission, the seasonal differences and the breast feeding patterns, further studies are needed.