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Review
. 2021 Jan-Jun;11(1):11-15.
doi: 10.4103/tp.TP_68_20. Epub 2021 May 14.

Cryptosporidium and waterborne outbreaks - A mini review

Anusha Gururajan  1 , Nonika Rajkumari  1 , Utpala Devi  2 , Parismita Borah  2
Affiliations
Review

Cryptosporidium and waterborne outbreaks - A mini review

Anusha Gururajan et al. Trop Parasitol. 2021 Jan-Jun.

Abstract

Cryptosporidium spp. is one of the prime agents of infectious diarrhea. Cryptosporidium spp. has been gaining awareness as a pathogen of public health importance in India and other developing countries. Owing to the nature of multiple transmission routes such as person-to-person, animal-to-person, waterborne and foodborne, the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in humans is not well known. A deeper understanding of the pathogenesis may lead to better diagnosis and better treatment of the condition. Asymptomatic human and animal transmission illustrates that the spread of infection through the environment is a more plausible explanation, waterborne transmission in particular. The disease burden is underestimated and its global impact is yet to be quantified due to the lack of country-specific estimates. Assessment of the disease itself has been crucial since the morphological indistinguishability, differences in distribution and transmission, and variations in the genotypes.

Keywords: Cryptosporidiosis; molecular detection; outbreaks; waterborne transmission; watery diarrhea.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

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