Human infection with Cryptosporidium spp.: results of a 24-month survey.

We report the findings of a two-year survey of faecal specimens for the protozoal pathogen, Cryptosporidium. Of the 2248 patients who were tested, 55 (2.5%) patients were found to have cryptosporidial infection. Transmission of the parasite appeared mainly to occur from person to person. In immunocompetent patients it caused an acute and sometimes severe gastroenteritis. Immunoincompetent patients experienced a variable illness that ranged from asymptomatic carriage to severe diarrhoea, causing malabsorption and ultimately death. Cryptosporidium is an important cause of gastroenteritis and may be the presenting feature of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Therefore, it is pertinent to screen for this pathogen in all patients with acute diarrhoea.