Investigation of adult-sera for the presence of anti-Cryptosporidium antibodies

Abstract

Cryptosporidiosis is an acute diarrhoeal disease caused by Cryptosporidium spp for both human and animals. Typically, the duration of diarrhoeal illness and ultimate outcome of intestinal cryptosporidiosis depend on the immune status of the patient. Random serology-based studies in humans and animals have suggested that infection with this organism is common during a life time. 130 serum samples of adults, (18-30 years) from two main public hospitals at Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia were recruited to participate in the study. The aim was to identify the sero-prevalence of cryptosporidiosis infection and determine factors associated with increased risk of the infection. Western Blot analysis (WB) with two different Cryptosporidium antigen markers; the 15-17 KDa and the 27 KDa, were used. Among participants, 8.5 % had antibodies to the 15 KDa, 23.8 % had antibodies to the 27 kDa, 34.6 % were sero-positive to both antigens, and 33.1 % were sero-negative to both antigens. Source of drinking water with a strong association with drinking tap water was the only factor significantly associated with seropositivity to cryptosporidiosis infection (OR= 37.33, P< 0.001).