Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrheal disease caused by microscopic parasites, Cryptosporidium, that can live in the intestine of humans and animals and is passed in the stool of an infected person or animal.
The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the body for long periods of time and makes it very resistant to chlorine-based disinfectants.
During the past 2 decades, Cryptosporidium has become recognized as one of the most common causes of waterborne disease (recreational water and drinking water) in humans in the United States.
The parasite is found in every region of the United States and throughout the world.
Both the disease and the parasite are commonly known as “Crypto.”
You can become infected after accidentally swallowing the parasite.
Crypto lives in the gut of infected humans or animals. An infected person or animal sheds Crypto parasites in their poop. An infected person can shed 10,000,000 to 100,000,000 Crypto germs in a single bowel movement.
Shedding of Crypto in poop begins when symptoms like diarrhea begin and can last for weeks after symptoms stop. Swallowing as few as 10 Crypto germs can cause infection.
Crypto is not spread by contact with blood.
For diarrhea whose cause has not been determined, the following actions may help relieve symptoms:
Contact your healthcare provider if you suspect that you have cryptosporidiosis.
Some people with Crypto will have no symptoms at all.
While the small intestine is the site most commonly affected, Crypto infections could possibly affect other areas of the digestive tract or the respiratory tract.
Symptoms of crypto generally begin 2 to 10 days (average 7 days) after becoming infected with the parasite. In persons with healthy immune systems, symptoms usually last about 1 to 2 weeks. The symptoms may go in cycles in which you may seem to get better for a few days, then feel worse again before the illness ends.
To avoid spreading the disease to others, infected individuals should wash their hands frequently with soap and water, especially after using the toilet, or changing diapers, and before eating or preparing food.
If you think you may have crypto see your healthcare provider. Thoroughly wash with clear, clean (uncontaminated) water, all vegetables and fruits you plan to eat raw.
Contaminated water may include water that has not been boiled or filtered, as well as contaminated recreational water sources (e.g., swimming pools, lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams).
Several community-wide outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis have been linked to drinking municipal water or recreational water contaminated with Cryptosporidium.
Although crypto can infect all people, some groups are likely to develop more serious illness.
Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrheal disease that is spread through contact with the stool of an infected person or animal. The disease is diagnosed by examining stool samples.
People infected with Crypto can shed the parasite irregularly in their poop (for example, one day they shed parasite, the next day they don’t, the third day they do) so patients may need to give three samples collected on three different days to help make sure that a negative test result is accurate and really means they do not have Crypto.
Healthcare providers should specifically request testing for Crypto. Routine ova and parasite testing does not normally include Crypto testing.
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