title: Relationship of cryptosporidiosis to abdominal pain and diarrhea in Mayan Indians.
abstract: Demonstration of cryptosporidiosis in Mayan Indians living around Lake Atitlan provided an opportunity to correlate infection with abdominal pain and/or diarrhea in different age groups of children. 94 subjects experiencing abdominal pain and/or diarrhea, between the ages of 2 and 13 were studied in towns around Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, over a two-year period. Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in the feces of 29% of children who presented with abdominal pain and 21% with diarrhea. Of the 60 infected subjects, 45% were experiencing abdominal pain and 33% diarrhea, 22% had abdominal pain and diarrhea. Both abdominal pain and diarrhea were significantly higher in children under 10 years of age and were most prevalent in the 6-9 year old age group but the correlation of symptoms to infection was not significantly different as the ages of the children increased. The high frequency of abdominal pain and/or diarrhea with infection in children was consistent with cryptosporidiosis, a disease considered as one of several common intestinal infections that produce these symptoms.
authors.affiliation: College of Osteopathic Medicine, Health Professions Division, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Laubach
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spalter
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ginter
authors.forename: Lauritz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000469:parasitology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000469:parasitology*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006166:Guatemala; D006801:Humans; D007197:Indians, Central American; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence