National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Cryptosporidiosis


Cryptosporidiosis is an illness caused by the parasite, Cryptosporidium. The condition is most commonly associated with watery diarrhea. Other signs and symptoms may include dehydration, weight loss, stomach cramps, fever, nausea and/or vomiting. Cryptosporidiosis occurs when the parasite enters the body, often through contaminated food and water or because of poor handwashing hygiene. Although cryptosporidiosis can affect all people, young children, pregnant women and people with severely weakened immune systems (i.e. those with AIDS; cancer and transplant patients who are taking certain immunosuppressive drugs; and those with inherited diseases that affect the immune system) are likely to develop a more serious illness. Medications such as nitazoxanide have been used to treat diarrhea in both adults and children. However, most people who have healthy immune systems will recover without treatment.[1][2][3]
Last updated: 3/22/2017

FDA-Approved Treatments

The medication(s) listed below have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as orphan products for treatment of this condition. Learn more orphan products.

Research helps us better understand diseases and can lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment. This section provides resources to help you learn about medical research and ways to get involved.

Clinical Research Resources

  • ClinicalTrials.gov lists trials that are related to Cryptosporidiosis. Click on the link to go to ClinicalTrials.gov to read descriptions of these studies.

    Please note: Studies listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website are listed for informational purposes only; being listed does not reflect an endorsement by GARD or the NIH. We strongly recommend that you talk with a trusted healthcare provider before choosing to participate in any clinical study.

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

Where to Start

  • You can obtain information on this topic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC is recognized as the lead federal agency for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
  • MedlinePlus was designed by the National Library of Medicine to help you research your health questions, and it provides more information about this topic.

In-Depth Information

  • Medscape Reference provides information on this topic. You may need to register to view the medical textbook, but registration is free.
  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know.

  1. Parasites - Cryptosporidium. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. November 2010; https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/.
  2. Cryptosporidiosis. MedlinePlus. August 2016; https://medlineplus.gov/cryptosporidiosis.html.
  3. Miguel M Cabada, MD, MSc. Cryptosporidiosis. Medscape Reference. August 2016; http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/215490-overview.