Seroepidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in children in Papua New Guinea and Australia

Abstract

SUMMARYEnzyme immunoassays (EIA) were used to measure serum antibodies to Cryptosporidium in four immunocompetent adults with recent proven cryptosporidial infection, 379 healthy children and 73 adult volunteers in Melbourne, Australia, and 205 children in Papua New Guinea (PNG) (47 healthy children; 158 with pneumonia). Antibodies peaked 3–6 weeks after infection and fell to baseline within a few months. A high level (5000 EIA units/ml) or a significant change between paired sera, of IgG or IgM, were taken as evidence of recent infection and found in 24% of PNG children and in 8% of children and 5% of adults in Melbourne. Among PNG children with pneumonia who had high cryptosporidial antibody levels, those with measles (6/8) were significantly more likely (P = 0·002) to have diarrhoea than the remainder (4/28). Symptomatic cryptosporidiosis may be associated with transient immune suppression due to viral infection. This study indicates that serological surveys can contribute to an understanding of the epidemiology of cryptosporidosis.