Swansea University Medical School, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
Cryptosporidium Reference Unit, Public Health Wales Microbiology and Health Protection, Singleton Hospital, Swansea SA2 8AQA, UK.
Microbiology (Reading). 2019 May;165(5):500-502. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.000764.
The protozoan Cryptosporidium is notorious for its resistance to chlorine disinfection, a mainstay of water treatment. Human infections, mainly of the small intestine, arise from consumption of faecally contaminated food or water, environmental exposure, and person-to-person or animal-to-person spread. Acute gastrointestinal symptoms can be prolonged but are usually self-limiting. Problems arise with immune-deficient, including malnourished, people including chronic diarrhoea, hepato-biliary tree and extra-gastrointestinal site infection, and few options for treatment or prevention exist. Although genomics has enabled refined classification, identification of chemotherapeutic targets and vaccine candidates, and putative factors for host adaption and pathogenesis, their confirmation has been hampered by a lack of biological tools.
原生动物隐孢子虫以其对氯消毒的抵抗力而臭名昭著，氯消毒是水处理的主要手段。人类感染主要发生在小肠，是由于食用粪便污染的食物或水、暴露于环境中以及人与人或动物与人之间的传播。急性胃肠道症状可能会延长，但通常是自限性的。免疫缺陷人群（包括营养不良人群）会出现问题，包括慢性腹泻、肝胆树和胃肠道外部位感染，并且治疗或预防选择有限。尽管基因组学使精细分类、鉴定化学治疗靶点和疫苗候选物以及宿主适应和发病机制的推测因素成为可能，但由于缺乏生物工具，其确认受到阻碍。
