Cryptosporidium, malnutrition, and chronic diarrhea in children
S. Sallon, R. J. Deckelbaum, I. I. Schmid, S. Harlap, M. Baras and D. T. Spira
Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Cryptosporidium was found in the stools of 13.5% of 221 children
hospitalized with diarrhea. It was the single most prevalent pathogen
isolated. Children with Cryptosporidium-positive stools were significantly
more malnourished than children in whom Cryptosporidium was not detected.
Children with more severe malnutrition (ie, less than 50% of their expected
weight) and with Cryptosporidium in their stools had a significantly longer
duration of diarrhea than similarly malnourished children without
Cryptosporidium (63 vs 32 days, respectively). In 77 better-nourished
outpatients with diarrhea, Cryptosporidium was found in only 5.2% of cases
and was associated with less-severe illness. Our findings are consistent
with the hypothesis that in less-developed areas, Cryptosporidium is a
major pathogen, not only in acute but also in chronic childhood diarrhea,
and may play an important role in the interaction between diarrhea and
malnutrition.
