WATER-BORNE CRYPTOSPORIDIUM - A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE USA

In the USA, Cryptosporidium parvum has attracted considerable interest due to recent outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis attributed to water supp lies contaminated with oocysts. Because of its unprecedented magnitude , the outbreak which occurred in Milwaukee in April 1993 was widely pu blicized and studied. Information collected during this and other rece nt outbreaks is being evaluated by regulatory agencies and the water i ndustry with the aim of designing cost-effective measures that will re duce the risk of future water-borne outbreaks, as discussed here by Gi ovanni Widmer, Margaretha Carraway and Saul Tzipori.