Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite found in contaminated
water. It has been increasingly recognized as the cause of
outbreaks of diarrhea when water supplies become contaminated. In
normal individuals, it is a self-limited disease. Among
immunocompromised individuals with AIDS, cryptosporidium can cause
severe diarrheal disease, gallbladder disease (cholecystitis), and
inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).
Review Date: 05/25/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in
Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division
of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts
General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical
Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
