Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite that causes the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis. Both the parasite and the disease are commonly known as “Crypto.”
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 tolerant to chlorine disinfection.
While this parasite can be spread in several different ways, water (drinking water and recreational water) is the most common way to spread the parasite. Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of waterborne disease among humans in the United States.
Symptoms:
Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis generally begin 2 to 10 days (average 7 days) after becoming infected with the parasite. The most common symptom of cryptosporidiosis is watery diarrhea. Symptoms include:
- Watery diarrhea
- Stomach cramps or pain
- Dehydration
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Weight loss
Some people with Crypto will have no symptoms at all.
Symptoms usually last about 1 to 2 weeks (with a range of a few days to 4 or more weeks) in persons with healthy immune systems. Occasionally, people may experience a recurrence of symptoms after a brief period of recovery before the illness ends. Symptoms can come and go for up to 30 days.
While the small intestine is the site most commonly affected, in immunocompromised persons Cryptosporidium infections could possibly affect other areas of the digestive tract or the respiratory tract.
People with weakened immune systems may develop serious, chronic, and sometimes fatal illness. Examples of people with weakened immune systems include:
- people with AIDS;
- those with inherited diseases that affect the immune system; and
- cancer and transplant patients who are taking certain immunosuppressive drugs.
The risk of developing severe disease may differ depending on each person’s degree of immune suppression.
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
Symptoms:
Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis generally begin 2 to 10 days (average 7 days) after becoming infected with the parasite. The most common symptom of cryptosporidiosis is watery diarrhea. Symptoms include:
- Watery diarrhea
- Stomach cramps or pain
- Dehydration
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Weight loss
Some people with Crypto will have no symptoms at all.
Symptoms usually last about 1 to 2 weeks (with a range of a few days to 4 or more weeks) in persons with healthy immune systems. Occasionally, people may experience a recurrence of symptoms after a brief period of recovery before the illness ends. Symptoms can come and go for up to 30 days.
While the small intestine is the site most commonly affected, in immunocompromised persons Cryptosporidium infections could possibly affect other areas of the digestive tract or the respiratory tract.
Treatment:
- Most people who have healthy immune systems will recover without treatment.
- Diarrhea can be managed by drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.
- People who are in poor health or who have weakened immune systems are at higher risk for more severe and prolonged illness.
- Young children and pregnant women may be more susceptible to dehydration resulting from diarrhea and should drink plenty of fluids while ill. Rapid loss of fluids from diarrhea may be especially life threatening to babies. Therefore, parents should talk to their healthcare providers about fluid replacement therapy options for infants.
- Anti-diarrheal medicine may help slow down diarrhea, but a healthcare provider should be consulted before such medicine is taken.
- HIV-positive individuals who suspect they have cryptosporidiosis should contact their healthcare provider. For those persons with AIDS, anti-retroviral therapy that improves the immune status will also decrease or eliminate symptoms of cryptosporidiosis. However, even if symptoms disappear, cryptosporidiosis is often not curable and the symptoms may return if the immune status worsens.
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report and we’ll interpret and provide you with recomendations today.
Get StartedGet Started With Our Personal Plan
Advanced Plan
Unlimited Plan
Are You a Health Professional?
Get started with our professional plan
Welcome to Healthmatters Pro.
Save time on interpreting lab results with the largest database of biomarkers online. In-depth research on any test at your fingertips, all stored and tracked in one place. Learn more
Pro Plan
for health professionals
$45 per month
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
A2142C, A2142G, A2143G, A926G, Adenovirus 40/41, AGA926-928TTC, Akkermansia muciniphila, Amoxicillin, Ancylostoma duodenale, Anti-gliadin IgA, Ascaris lumbricoides, b-Glucuronidase, Bacillus spp., Bacteroides fragilis, Bacteroidetes, Bifidobacterium spp., Blastocystis hominis, C. difficile, Toxin A, C. difficile, Toxin B, Calprotectin, Campylobacter, Candida albicans, Candida spp., Chilomastix mesnili, Citrobacter freundii, Citrobacter spp., Clarithromycin, Clostridia (class), Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora spp., Cytomegalovirus, Desulfovibrio spp., Dientamoeba fragilis, E. coli O157, Elastase-1, Endolimax nana, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica, Enterobacter spp., Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus spp., Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), Enteroinvasive E. coli/Shigella, Enterotoxigenic E. coli LT/ST, Eosinophil Activation Protein (EDN/EPX), Epstein-Barr Virus, Escherichia spp., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Firmicutes, Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes Ratio, Fluoroquinolones, Fusobacterium spp., Geotrichum spp., Giardia, gyrA D91G, gyrA D91N, gyrA N87K, gyrB R484K, gyrB S479N, Helicobacter pylori, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella spp., Lactobacillus spp., M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Methanobacteriaceae (family), Microsporidium spp., Morganella spp., Necator americanus, Norovirus GI/II, Occult Blood - FIT, PBP1A N562Y, PBP1A S414R, PBP1A T556S, Pentatrichomonas hominis, Prevotella spp., Proteus mirabilis, Proteus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas spp., Rhodotorula spp., Rodotorula spp., Roseburia spp., Salmonella, Secretory IgA, Shiga-like Toxin E. coli stx1, Shiga-like Toxin E. coli stx2, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus spp., Steatocrit, Streptococcus spp., Taenia spp., Tetracycline, Trichuris trichiura, Vibrio cholerae, Virulence Factor, babA, Virulence Factor, cagA, Virulence Factor, dupA, Virulence Factor, iceA, Virulence Factor, oipA, Virulence Factor, vacA, Virulence Factor, virB, Virulence Factor, virD, Yersinia enterocolitica, Zonulin