Gródýrið cryptosporidium og sýkingar af völdum þess

Abstract

Infections caused by the coccidian Cryptosporidium in humans in Iceland. At the Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland, Keldur, Reykjavik, routine parasitological examinations of stool samples from humans are performed. Searching for Cryptosporidium has been included in these examinations since 1986. Among 1215 persons of all age examined from the beginning of 1986 through June 1989, most of whom had gastrointestinal symptoms, 9 (0.7%) were found to be infected with Cryptosporidium. The diagnosis was based on the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in faecal samples using the formalin - ether/ethylacetat concentration method. For verification these samples were stained by a modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique. Six of the patients were children and three were adults. All patients had symptoms of gastroenteritis and eight of them were hospitalized at the time of diagnosis. In seven cases Cryptosporidium was the only pathogen found. One of the adults was receiving immunosuppressive treatment and another adult was later diagnosed with Crohn's disease. In all the children Cryptosporidium was diagnosed during the months of June-September and in the adults during October-December. Only one of the patients had recently travelled abroad. Five of the six children came from rural districts but the sixth acquired symptoms abroad. Three of the infected children came from the same rural district during the summer of 1987 possibly indicating a local source of infection. The data indicate that Cryptosporidium sp. is endemic in Iceland. The source of infection is not known. Studies on the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in animals in Iceland have not yet been performed.

Um áramótin 1985/86 var farið að gefa sérstakan gaum að gródýrinu Cryptosporidium í mannasaursýnum sem send eru til sníkjudýrarannsókna að Tilraunastöð Háskólans í meinafræði að Keldum. Frá þeim tíma og fram á mitt ár 1989 hafa verið rannsökuð saursýni úr 1215 einstaklingum. Til þessa hafa fundist 9 tilfelli af Cryptosporidium. Sennilega er sníkjudýrið landlægt.