FREQUENCY OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM IN CHILDHOOD DIARRHOEA- IMPORTANCE OF MODIFIED ACID FAST TECHNIQUE

Authors

  • Shaheen Shoaib
  • Shoaib Tauheed
  • Amtul Hafiz

Abstract

Background: One of the important causes of childhood diarrhoea is cryptosporidium, a parasitic pathogen which is usually overlooked. This study was therefore designed to show the importance of modified acid fast stain in the diagnosis of cryptosporidium in childhood diarrhoea. Methods: Stool samples from 300 children with prolonged diarrhoea were examined by modified acid fast staining along with wet mounts in saline and iodine. Results: Out of 300 samples five (1.7%) were diagnosed as positive for cryptosporidium. Conclusion: Results indicate that Cryptospori-diosis exists as a cause of diarrhoeal illness in our society. It was also noted that modified acid fast staining of stool samples is an important, non-invasive and useful diagnostic technique in identification of cryptosporidium.Key words: Cryptosporidium. Childhood diarrhea, Modified acid fast technique

References

Esteban JG, Aguirre C, Flores A, Strauss W, Angles Rene, MasComa S. High cryptosporidium prevalence in healthy Aymara children. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1998; 58:50-55.

Nime FA, Burck D, Page DL, Holscher MA, Yardley JH. Acute enterocolitis in a human being infected with protozoan cryptosporidium. Gastroenterology 1976; 70:592-6.

Meisel JL, Perera DR, Meligro C, Rubin CE. Over whelming watery diarrhoea associated with cryptosporidium in an immunosuppressed patient. Gastroenterology 1976;70:1156-60.

Xian ZUS, Fen LIJ, Barrett LJ, Fayer R, Shu SY, McAuliffe JF et al. Seroepidemiologic study of cryptosporidium infection in children from rural communities of Anhui, China. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1994; 51:1-10.

Molbak K, Wested N, Hojlying N, Scheutz F, Gottschau A, Aaby P et al. The etiology of early childhood diarrhoea A community based study from Guinea Bissau. J Infect Dis 1994;169:581-7.

Checkley W, Epstein LD, Gilman RH, Black RE, Cabrera L, Sterling CR. Effects of cryptosporidium parvum infection in Peruvian children. Am J Epidemiol 1998; 148:497-506.

Goodgame RW. Understanding intestinal spore forming protozoa. Ann Intern Med 1996; 124:429-41.

Mosier DA, Oberst RD. Cryptosporidiosis. A global challenge. Annals New York Acad Sci 2000; 916:102-11.

Newman KD, Zu SX, Wuhib T, Lima AA, Guerrant RL, Sears CL. House hold epidemiology of cryptosporidium parvum infection in an urban community in northern Brazil. Ann Intern Med 1994; 120:518-19.

Baqai R. Cryptosporidium in diarrhoeal disease (editorial). JPMA 1990; 40:174-5.

WHO Basic Laboratory methods in Medical Parasitology. Geneva WHO 1991.

Kosek M, Alcantara C, Lima AA, Guerrant RL. Cryptosporidiosis. An Update. Lancet Infect Dis 2001; 4:262-9.

Morin CA, Roberts CL, Patricia A, Addis DG, James LH. What do physicians know about cryptosporidiosis? Arch Intern Med 1997; 157:1017-22.

Flegg PJ. Cryptosporidium in travelers from Pakistan. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1987; 81: 171-81.

Memon MM. Cryptosporidium A waterborne pathogen. Pak J Med Res 1997; 36:47-9.

Abbas Z, Sheikh H, Jafri SMW, Khan AH, Protracted cryptosporidiosis in adults diagnosed by distal duodenal biopsies. Specialist 1994;10:273-5.

Pereira MD, Atwill ER, Barbosa AP, Silva A, Garcia ZMT. Intra-familial and extra-familial risk factors associated with Cryptosporidium parvum infection among children hospitalized for diarrhoea in Goiania, Goias, Brazil. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2002; 66:787-93.

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 3 (2003): JOURNAL OF AYUB MEDICAL COLLEGE, ABBOTTABAD

Section

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

License

Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License  CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.

USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.