Epidemiology of Cryptosporidium parvum in symptomatic paediatric oncology patients

Background: Although Cryptosporidium panrvum is known to cause significant morbidity in immunocompromised individuals, including adults with cancer, the epidemiology of this pathogen in paediatric oncology patients is not known. Objective: We prospectively investigated the incidence of symptomatic C. parvum infection in children receiving treatment for malignancy. Methodology: Over a 9 month period, all oncology inpatients with diarrhoea had stool analysis for C. parvum oocysts. The incidence of cryptosporidiosis was also recorded in non-oncology patients who had a stool analysed for C. parvum during the 6 years of the study period. Results: None of the 149 stool samples from 60 oncology patients analysed contained C, parvum oocysts. Thirteen per cent of;173 samples from non-oncology patients were positive for C. parvum oocysts, Conclusions: In contrast to studies of adult oncology patients, paediatric oncology patients in our institution appear at low risk of cryptosporidiosis.