A whole water catchment approach to investigating the origin and distribution of Cryptosporidium species

Enteric protozoa in the developed world: a public health perspective

Several enteric protozoa cause severe morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals worldwide. In developed settings, enteric protozoa are often ignored as a cause of diarrheal illness due to better hygiene conditions, and as such, very little effort is used toward laboratory diagnosis. Although these protozoa contribute to the high burden of infectious diseases, estimates of their true prevalence are sometimes affected by the lack of sensitive diagnostic techniques to detect them in clinical and environmental specimens. Despite recent advances in the epidemiology, molecular biology, and treatment of protozoan illnesses, gaps in knowledge still exist, requiring further research. There is evidence that climate-related changes will contribute to their burden due to displacement of ecosystems and human and animal populations, increases in atmospheric temperature, flooding and other environmental conditions suitable for transmission, and the need for the reuse of alternative water sources to meet growing population needs. This review discusses the common enteric protozoa from a public health perspective, highlighting their epidemiology, modes of transmission, prevention, and control. It also discusses the potential impact of climate changes on their epidemiology and the issues surrounding waterborne transmission and suggests a multidisciplinary approach to their prevention and control.

Comparison of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of seven Cryptosporidium assays used in the UK

To compare the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of seven Cryptosporidium diagnostic assays used in the UK, results from 259 stool samples from patients with acute gastrointestinal symptoms were compared against a nominated gold standard (real-time PCR and oocyst detection). Of the 152 'true positives', 80 were Cryptosporidium hominis, 68 Cryptosporidium parvum, two Cryptosporidium felis, one Cryptosporidium ubiquitum and one Cryptosporidium meleagridis. The Cryptosporidium spp. diagnostic sensitivities of three Cryptosporidium and Giardia combination enzyme immunoassays (EIA) coupled with confirmation of positive reactions were 91.4-93.4 %, whilst the sensitivity of auramine phenol microscopy was 92.1 % and that of immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM) was 97.4 %, all with overlapping 95 % confidence intervals. However, IFM was significantly more sensitive (P = 0.01, paired test of proportions). The sensitivity of modified Ziehl-Neelsen microscopy was 75.4 %, significantly lower than those for the other tests investigated, including an immunochromatographic lateral flow assay (ICLF) (84.9 %) (P = 0.0016). Specificities were 100 % when the ICLF and EIA test algorithms included confirmation of positive reactions; however, four positive EIA reactions were not confirmed for either parasite. There was no significant difference in the detection of C. parvum and C. hominis by each assay, but the detection of other Cryptosporidium spp. requires further investigation, as the numbers of samples were small. EIAs may be considered for diagnostic testing, subject to local validation, and diagnostic algorithms must include confirmation of positive reactions.