Zoonotic aspects of cryptosporidiosis in Nepal

This article reviews cryptosporidiosis, a common protozoan disease in humans and animals in Nepal, acquired by ingestion of oocysts that were excreted in the feces of infected individuals. Contaminated water represents the major source of Cryptosporidium infections for humans and can be transmitted from person-to-person, from animal-to-person, animal-to-animal, by ingestion of contaminated water and food or by contact with contaminated surfaces. Being highly resistant to environmental and chemical processes and representing the only group of pathogen surviving chlorination, it has no effective chemotherapy identified for the treatment which makes cryptosporidiosis a debilitating and persistent disease with high potential of transmission among immune-compromised ones like children and AIDS patients. Various reports have been documented for potential transmission of the oocyst among humans and animals in Nepal through common niche like river water, tap water sources and also from wild animals through the interaction on buffer zones. Literatures reported prevalence rate of 16 % in Children, 11% in HIV infected patients in case of human; whereas, 14% in Calves, 19% in buffaloes and 12.5% in swamp deer in case of animals in Nepal. In conclusion, the persistent shedding of oocysts by reservoir hosts like calves, kids, poultry and wild animals like deer and monkeys possess great threat to the transmission to general public. The epidemiological studies of cryptosporidium and the knowledge of the pattern of the disease outbreak can guide therapy and effective preventive measures against this disease.