Cryptosporidium - Exposure Risks

Exposure Risks

The following groups have an elevated risk of being exposed to Cryptosporidium:

• People who swim regularly in pools with insufficient sanitation (Certain strains of Cryptosporidium are chlorine-resistant)
• Child-care workers
• Parents of infected children
• People who take care of other people with cryptosporidiosis
• International travelers
• Backpackers, hikers, and campers who drink unfiltered, untreated water
• People, including swimmers, who swallow water from contaminated sources
• People who handle infected cattle
• People exposed to human feces through sexual contact

Cases of cryptosporidiosis can occur in a city with clean water; cases of cryptosporidiosis can have different origins. Like many fecal-oral pathogens, it can also be transmitted by contaminated food or poor hygiene. Testing of water, as well as epidemiological study, are necessary to determine the sources of specific infections. Cryptosporidium typically does not cause serious illness in healthy people. It may chronically sicken some children, as well as adults who are exposed and immunocompromised. A subset of the immunocompromised population is people with AIDS. Some sexual behaviours can transmit the parasite directly.