Cryptosporidium spp., a frequent cause of diarrhea in Liberian children.
This report presents results from a sample survey designed to investigate the possible role of Cryptosporidium spp. in childhood diarrhea in a developing country, Liberia, West Africa. During the four months of January to April 1983, a house-to-house study was carried out in two geographically and socially different communities--an urban slum and three rural villages. Stool samples from 374 children, aged 6 to 59 months, were tested for Cryptosporidium spp. Among the children with diarrhea 8.4% were Cryptosporidium spp. positive compared with a prevalence rate of 5.9% in asymptomatic children. Of the children living in a household with a Cryptosporidium spp.-positive index child, 8.6% had a positive stool sample. Of all children attending a clinic because of diarrhea, 14.6% were Cryptosporidium spp. positive. Cryptosporidiosis was more frequent in younger children; 24 of the total of 29 positive cases (83%) were below 2.5 years old. Actual or previous bottle feeding (formula) was a risk factor, particularly in children below 18 months old. Of the bottle-fed children, 28% were Cryptosporidium spp. positive versus 9.1% of children never bottle fed. Crowding is another possible risk factor. The prevalence of cryptosporidiosis was 13.5% in big urban households with more than 10 children, whereas the prevalence in the small urban households was 6.1%. Ethnic and religious differences were particularly evident in the rural area. No Muslim households had cryptosporidiosis, whereas the prevalence in non-Muslim tribes was 9%. The general belief that cryptosporidiosis is primarily a zoonosis is questioned in this study, partly because many carriers and asymptomatic household contacts were found.
Højlyng
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N
Mølbak
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Jepsen
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S
D000367:Age Factors; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003441:Crowding; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007988:Liberia; D008297:Male; D012306:Risk; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population