Prevalence of diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum in non-HIV patients in Jeollanam-do, Korea

Korean J Parasitol. 2005 Sep;43(3):111-4. doi: 10.3347/kjp.2005.43.3.111.

Abstract

The present study investigated the prevalence rate of Cryptosporidium parvum as a cause of diarrhea. We examined 942 stools of unidentified reasons occurring in patients in whom no immunosuppression had been detected. We examined the stools for Cryptosporidium parvum via modified acid-fast staining. The clinical records of all of the positive patients were then analyzed. Nine (1%) of the stools among the 942 diarrheal patients were positive for C. parvum. The positive rate in the males was 1.1% (6/522) and the positive rate of the females was 0.7% (3/420). Age distribution revealed that the highest positive rates were in patients in their sixties, with a positive rate of 2.5% (4/158). In the clinical tests, levels of c-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, and neutrophil proportions were normally increased in the peripheral blood, whereas the lymphocyte proportion exhibited a tendency towards decrease. The pathological findings were compatible with an inflammatory reaction in the host.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Animals
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cryptosporidiosis / epidemiology*
  • Cryptosporidiosis / immunology
  • Cryptosporidium parvum / isolation & purification
  • Cryptosporidium* / isolation & purification
  • Diarrhea / epidemiology*
  • Diarrhea / immunology
  • Diarrhea / parasitology
  • Feces / parasitology
  • Female
  • HIV Seronegativity
  • Humans
  • Immunocompetence
  • Korea / epidemiology
  • Lymphocyte Count
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prevalence
  • Staining and Labeling