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Protozoan Infections
Cryptosporidiosis
Cryptosporidiosis is a disease caused by infection with an intestinal apicomplexan, Cryptosporidium parvum, a protozoan parasite in the same phylum as the ones that cause malaria. Cryptosporidiosis is usually a water-borne disease. In healthy hosts, infection with C. parvum causes a self-limiting diarrhea; however, in someone that is immunocompromised such as an AIDS patient the disease can be severe, even life-threatening. The prevalence of cryptosporidiosis tends to be high in areas were sanitation is inadequate of lacking. This is especially problematic in many developing countries, such as Cameroon, where there is a lack of sanitation in conjunction with a high prevalence of AIDS.
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