Related Experiment Videos
Severe cryptosporidiosis in children with normal T-cell subsets
K Mølbak1, I M Lisse, N Højlyng
1Epidemiology Research Unit, Statens Seruminstitut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Insights
Cryptosporidium infection can be severe in young children in developing countries. Pre-infection immune status (CD4/CD8) did not predict disease severity or mortality from cryptosporidiosis in this study.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Cryptosporidium spp. infection typically causes self-limiting illness in immunocompetent children.
- However, cryptosporidiosis may be a significant cause of mortality in developing countries, particularly in young children.
- Impaired cellular immunity is hypothesized to contribute to severe cryptosporidiosis outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between pre-infectious CD4/CD8 T-cell counts and the incidence and severity of Cryptosporidium infection in young children.
- To determine if pre-existing immune status influences the risk of persistent diarrhea or death due to cryptosporidiosis.
Main Methods:
- Community-based prospective study involving 168 children under two years of age.
- Blood samples were collected to assess pre-infectious CD4/CD8 T-cell status.
- Children were monitored for Cryptosporidium infection, persistent diarrhea, and mortality over 156 days.
Main Results:
- Twenty-one children developed Cryptosporidium infection within the study period.
- No significant differences in pre-infectious CD4/CD8 T-cell counts were observed between infected children and controls.
- Impaired CD4/CD8 status was not associated with persistent diarrhea or mortality in children with cryptosporidiosis.
Conclusions:
- Pre-infectious CD4/CD8 T-cell status does not appear to be a determinant for the incidence or severity of Cryptosporidium infection in young children in Guinea Bissau.
- The findings suggest that factors other than pre-existing cellular immune status may explain severe cryptosporidiosis outcomes in this population.
- Further research is needed to identify risk factors for severe cryptosporidiosis and mortality in developing countries.
Abstract:
Though Cryptosporidium spp. is considered to cause only a self-limiting illness in immunocompetent children, data from Guinea Bissau suggest that cryptosporidiosis may be a significant cause of deaths in developing countries. An impaired cellular immune function could explain the severe course of cryptosporidiosis in these children. We therefore investigated in a community study whether pre-infectious CD4/CD8 status had an impact on incidence and severity of cryptosporidiosis. Of 168 children below two years of age 21 experienced Cryptosporidium-infection within 156 days after blood sampling, but no tendencies of pre-infectious impaired cellular immune function was found in the cases compared with controls, nor did nine children who acquired persistent diarrhoea or three who died have impaired CD4/CD8 status.