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. 2004 Jul;42(7):2944-51.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.42.7.2944-2951.2004.

Risk factors for sporadic cryptosporidiosis among immunocompetent persons in the United States from 1999 to 2001

Sharon L Roy  1 , Stephanie M DeLong, Sara A Stenzel, Beletshachew Shiferaw, Jacquelin M Roberts, Asheena Khalakdina, Ruthanne Marcus, Suzanne D Segler, Dipti D Shah, Stephanie Thomas, Duc J Vugia, Shelley M Zansky, Vance Dietz, Michael J Beach; Emerging Infections Program FoodNet Working Group
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Risk factors for sporadic cryptosporidiosis among immunocompetent persons in the United States from 1999 to 2001

Sharon L Roy et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2004 Jul.

Abstract

Many studies have evaluated the role of Cryptosporidium spp. in outbreaks of enteric illness, but few studies have evaluated sporadic cryptosporidiosis in the United States. To assess the risk factors for sporadic cryptosporidiosis among immunocompetent persons, a matched case-control study was conducted in seven sites of the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) involving 282 persons with laboratory-identified cryptosporidiosis and 490 age-matched and geographically matched controls. Risk factors included international travel (odds ratio [OR] = 7.7; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 2.7 to 22.0), contact with cattle (OR = 3.5; 95% CI = 1.8 to 6.8), contact with persons >2 to 11 years of age with diarrhea (OR = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.5 to 6.2), and freshwater swimming (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.049 to 3.5). Eating raw vegetables was protective (OR = 0.5; 95% CI = 0.3 to 0.7). This study underscores the need for ongoing public health education to prevent cryptosporidiosis, particularly among travelers, animal handlers, child caregivers, and swimmers, and the need for further assessment of the role of raw vegetables in cryptosporidiosis.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Month of onset of diarrhea in cryptosporidiosis case-patients grouped by number of case-patients (n = 282) and age category.
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