Cryptosporidiosis in southern Sweden

Two different groups of patients with diarrhoea, altogether 1,478 individuals, were examined for cryptosporidium oocysts. The technique used was feces concentration and staining according to a modified Ziehl-Neelsen method. 20 cases of cryptosporidiosis (3%) were found among 698 consecutive patients with acute gastroenteritis. In feces samples sent for parasitological examination from 780 patients, cryptosporidia were found on 9 occasions (1%). None of 519 healthy persons excreted cryptosporidia. 19/29 patients with cryptosporidiosis had recently been abroad and in 8 of these additional enteric pathogens were found. The median duration of diarrhoea was 14 days. All patients except 1 were cryptosporidia-negative in faeces within 2 months. An immunosuppressed patient excreted cryptosporidia for 14 months.