Cryptosporidium generic
Cryptosporidium is a genus of apicomplexan protozoans that can cause gastrointestinal illness with diarrhea in humans. Cryptosporidium is the organism most commonly isolated in HIV-positive patients presenting with diarrhea (24%) compared with the immunocompetent individuals (6.1%).
Cryptosporidiosis is typically an acute, short-term infection, but can become severe and nonresolving in children and immunocompromised individuals. In human, it remains in the lower intestine and may remain for up to five weeks. This parasite is transmitted by environmentally hardy cycts (oocysts) that, once ingested, exist in the small intestine and result in an infection of the intestinal epithelial tissue.
A number of Cryptosporidium species infect mammals. In humans, the main causes of disease are C. parvum and C. homonis. C. canis, C. felis, C. meleagridis, C. muris and C. cuniculus can also cause disease in humans. The Bio-Evolution real time PCR kit allows the detection of most of Cryptosporidium species infecting mammals and provides a result in less than 80 minutes (excluding DNA extraction).