Cryptosporidiosis among children with diarrhoea in three Asian countries: A review

ABSTRACT

This review focuses on studies concerning cryptosporidiosis in three Asian countries. Cryptosporidium spp. infection was investigated in children < 12 years old afflicted with diarrhoea and admitted to the paediatric hospitals in Iraq, Jordan and Malaysia. Most of the patients complained of abdominal pain, watery diarrhoea and mild-to-severe dehydration. Stool samples were collected from children and five methods were used to detect oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. including: direct wet mount, Sheather's sugar flotation, formalin-ether sedimentation, modified Ziehl-Neelsen and direct fluorescent antibody (DFA). The infection rate was 8.56, 37.3 and 4.6 in Iraq, Jordan and Malaysia, respectively. A combination of formalin ether sedimentation and acid fast stain was used to detect Cryptosporidium oocysts in Iraq. The DFA test showed the highest sensitivity for samples of children in Jordan. In Malaysia, direct wet mount, formalin-ether sedimentation, modified Ziehl-Neelsen and DFA gave the same results (4.62%) while Sheather's sugar flotation was 3.85%. Source of drinking water appeared to be an important risk factor in transmission of infection. In Jordan, the high rate of infection was recorded in rainy season (January-May).