Cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium parvum)

1998 Case Definition

Clinical description

An illness caused by the protozoan Cryptosporidium parvum and characterized by diarrhea, abdominal cramps, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, nausea, and vomiting. Infected persons may be asymptomatic. The disease can be prolonged and life-threatening in severely immunocompromised persons.

Laboratory criteria for diagnosis

Laboratory-confirmed cryptosporidiosis shall be defined as the detection—in symptomatic or asymptomatic persons—of Cryptosporidium

  1. oocysts in stool by microscopic examination, or
  2. in intestinal fluid or small-bowel biopsy specimens, or
  3. oocyst or sporozoite antigens by immunodiagnostic methods, e.g., ELISA, or
  4. by PCR techniques when routinely available, or
  5. demonstration of reproductive stages in tissue preparations.

Case classification

Confirmed, symptomatic: a laboratory-confirmed case associated with one of the symptoms described above

Confirmed, asymptomatic: a laboratory-confirmed case associated with none of the above symptoms

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