Unique endemicity of cryptosporidiosis in children in Kuwait.
To understand the transmission of Cryptosporidium infection in children, fecal specimens from 62 Kuwaiti children with gastrointestinal symptoms found to be positive by microscopy were genotyped and subtyped with a small subunit rRNA-based PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and a 60-kDa glycoprotein-based DNA sequencing tool. The median age of infected children was 4.5 years, and 77% of infections occurred during the cool season of November to April. Fifty-eight of the children (94%) had Cryptosporidium parvum, three (5%) had Cryptosporidium hominis, and one (1%) had both C. parvum and C. hominis. Altogether, 13 subtypes of C. parvum (belonging to four subtype allele families) and C. hominis (belonging to three subtype allele families) were observed, with 92% of specimens belonging to the common allele family IIa and the unusual allele family IId. Thus, the transmission of cryptosporidiosis in Kuwaiti children differed significantly from other tropical countries.
Sulaiman
Irshad M
IM
Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Building 22, Mail Stop F-12, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717, USA.
Hira
Parsotam R
PR
Zhou
Ling
L
Al-Ali
Faiza M
FM
Al-Shelahi
Fatima A
FA
Shweiki
Hussein M
HM
Iqbal
Jamshaid
J
Khalid
Nabila
N
Xiao
Lihua
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal