Medical Dictionary: Cryptosporidium

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Cryptosporidium: Another name for Cryptosporiosis.
Cryptosporidium (condition): Contagious parasitic digestive infection

Cryptosporidium: Cryptosporidiosis (krip-toe-spo-rid-e-o-sis), is a diarrheal disease caused by a microscopic parasite, Cryptosporidium parvum, that can live in the intestine of humans and animals and is passed in the stool of an infected person or animal. Both the disease and the parasite are also known as "Crypto." The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the body for long periods of time and makes it very resistant to chlorine disinfection. During the past 2 decades, Crypto has become recognized as one of the most common causes of waterborne disease (drinking water and recreational water) in humans in the United States. The parasite is found in every region of the United States and throughout the world. ¹

More information on medical condition: Cryptosporiosis:

Footnotes:
1. excerpt from Preventing Cryptosporidiosis: A Guide for People with Compromised Immune Systems: DPD

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