Cordell R L, Addiss D G
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA 30341.
Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1994 Apr;13(4):310-7.
Trends in child care have affected the epidemiology of many infectious diseases. Although once considered rare Cryptosporidium is now recognized as a significant pathogen in child care settings. Although the major impact of cryptosporidiosis in child care settings is economic in terms of parental time lost from work due to a child's illness, the possibility of transmission to immunocompromised individuals and health effects of cryptosporidiosis underscore the significance of this pathogen. Our understanding of the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in child care settings is hampered by the lack of information from both cross-sectional and prospective studies. Such studies coupled with the use of newer diagnostic techniques and methods that are currently under development for identifying Cryptosporidium in environmental samples are sorely needed. Information is also needed on the effectiveness of prevention and control strategies. Although prevention strategies may be based on findings from broad based studies that do not focus on any one agent, differences in duration of excretion, rates of asymptomatic infection, availability of treatment and survival in the environment suggest that control strategies for specific pathogens should be evaluated.
儿童保育趋势已影响到许多传染病的流行病学。隐孢子虫病曾被认为较为罕见，但现在被视作儿童保育场所中的一种重要病原体。尽管隐孢子虫病在儿童保育场所造成的主要影响是经济方面的，即家长因孩子患病而损失工作时间，但该病传播给免疫功能低下个体的可能性以及隐孢子虫病对健康的影响凸显了这种病原体的重要性。由于缺乏横断面研究和前瞻性研究的信息，我们对儿童保育场所中隐孢子虫病流行病学的认识受到了阻碍。迫切需要开展此类研究，并使用目前正在开发的更新诊断技术和方法来识别环境样本中的隐孢子虫。还需要有关预防和控制策略有效性的信息。尽管预防策略可能基于广泛研究的结果，这些研究并非聚焦于任何一种病原体，但排泄持续时间、无症状感染率、治疗可用性以及在环境中的存活情况的差异表明，应评估针对特定病原体的控制策略。
