Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Cryptosporidiosis is a water- and food-borne zoonotic disease caused by the protozoon parasite of the genus Cryptosporidium.
The disease can be transmitted by the fecalβoral route as well as the respiratory route. The infective stage sporulated oocysts is resistant to different disinfectants including chlorine.
Currently, no effective therapeutic drugs or vaccines are available to treat and control Cryptosporidium infection. To prevent cryptosporidiosis in humans and animals, we need to understand better how the disease is spread and transmitted, and how to interrupt its transmission cycle. This review focuses on understanding cryptosporidiosis, including its infective stage, pathogenesis, life cycle, genomics, epidemiology, previous outbreaks, source of the infection, transmission dynamics, host spectrum, risk factors and high-risk groups, the disease in animals and humans, diagnosis, treatment and control, and the prospect of an effective anti- Cryptosporidium vaccine.
It also focuses on the role of the One Health approach in managing cryptosporidiosis at the animalβhumanβenvironmental interface. The summarized data in this review will help to tackle future Cryptosporidium infections in humans and animals and reduce the disease occurrence.
Keywords: cryptosporidiosis, one health, poultry, vaccines, epidemiology, waterborne pathogen, foodborne pathogen, outbreaks. Cryptosporidiosis is an enteric disease caused by a protozoon parasite belonging to the genus Cryptosporidium. It is one of the most prevalent waterborne diseases and the leading cause of waterborne disease outbreaks worldwide [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. More than 58 million cases of diarrhea are detected annually in children and are associated with protozoal infections.
