Special Report 6

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SPECIAL REPORT #6

Cryptosporidium Parvum

ODAK Corporation is a strong supporter of environmental education and the company feels privileged to make available this informational report as a means of environmental education and awareness. The mission statement of ODAK Corporation is to provide high quality products, services and support to its customers and distributors. In partial fulfillment of that obligation we are proud to make this report available to you. Most people believe that their water comes from pure sources without any contamination or that the water has been treated. The presence of bacteria and pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms is a concern when considering the safety of your drinking water. Pathogenic organisms can cause intestinal infections, dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid fever, cholera, and other illnesses. Cryptosporidium is a protozoan which causes the parasitic infection, cryptosporidiosis. It exists in either the free-swimming (trophozoite) form or the oocyst (dormant) form. Cryptosporidium parvum is now recognized as a human pathogen which can cause severe diarrhea and illness.

Source:

Ingestion of drinking water contaminated with viable cryptosporidium oocysts, the environmentally resistant form of the organism, is the major mode of transmission. Cryptosporidium is introduced into the water supply via animal excreta containing oocysts. Important reservoirs of the oocysts include cattle, sheep and pigs. Cryptosporidium is also found in wild animal populations. The organism is more prevalent in ruminants such as deer, elk, moose and caribou and is primarily found in neonates of these species. Person to person transmission is common, especially in child daycare settings. Direct contact with infected animals, especially calves and lambs, can cause illness in exposed persons. Contaminated food can also cause infections.

Potential Health Hazards:

Infections are most common in young children and immunocompromised individuals. (AIDS/HIV patients, chemotherapy patients and organ transplant patients). Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis usually appear within two to ten days after ingestion of the parasite. Symptoms include watery diarrhea, headache, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and low grade fever. These symptoms may lead to weight loss and dehydration. In otherwise healthy individuals, symptoms usually last from one to two weeks, at which time the immune system is able to stop the infection. In the immunocompromised, the infection may continue and become life-threatening. At present, there is no effective drug therapy for cryptosporidiosis.

Treatment:

Water treatment for Cryptosporidium relies on properly designed and operated filtration systems. Chlorine disinfection of the organism is ineffective, as it has been shown that even one oocyst can withstand pure bleach (50,000 ppm chlorine) for 24 hours and still cause an infection. Filter systems usually consist of several filters. A "roughing filter" containing a 5µ - 10µ (micron) cartridge filter is installed to remove any large diameter sediments, such as iron sediments, sand, salt , etc. Down line from the roughing filter, a "polishing filter" containing a <1µ - 5µ cartridge filter is installed to remove small particles including Cryptosporidium from the water. Most reputable water system vendors are currently recommending a filter porosity of <1µ to remove Cryptosporidium cysts and trophozoites from drinking water. The filters are available at most water supply dealers. Make sure to check out the capabilities of the ODAK Solid Carbon Block Filter.

Testing:

Testing procedures are available for detecting Cryptosporidium oocysts in both raw and treated drinking water. The testing procedure involves filtering a large volume of water through a 1 micron, yarn-wound, polypropylene filter. The filter is then treated to remove any oocysts which may be present and the sample is concentrated. A monoclonal antibody to Cryptosporidium is added to the sample to bind to oocyst wall antigens. The reaction can be visualized by the addition of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) - conjugated anti-immunoglobulin and scanning with an epifluorescence microscope.

References or other resources:

Environmental Quality Center

This is a copyright protected document. To obtain permission to reproduce, distribute, or reprint this article, you must obtain permission from B.F. Environmental Consultants, 15 Hillcrest Drive, Dallas, PA 18612, boram@wilkes.edu, copyright@1987.

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