Cryptosporidium infection in young children with diarrhea in Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Fecal excretion of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts was determined in 625 chi ldren less than five years old who presented at the pediatric clinic of a t eaching hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Single stool specimens were colle cted fi-om 475 children with acute diarrhea and from 150 children without d iarrhea. The Cryptosporidium infection rate was significantly higher in chi ldren with diarrhea than in children without diarrhea (10.3% versus 3.3%). The C. parvum infection rate was highest in children 19-24 months of age (2 1.8%). There was no significant difference in the Cryptosporidium infection rate among male and female children of any age group studied. Sociodemogra phic information, drinking water supply, and contact with domestic animals had no significant role in the acquisition of C. parvum infection in our st udy population. The data suggest that C. parvum is relatively endemic in yo ung children in the Rawalpindi area and that C. parvum may be an important pathogen associated with diarrhea.