Cryptospridium

There was some discussion on the BOI lately about Cryptosporidium parvum and some leos being diagnosed with it. It was only discovered to be an opportunistic pathogen in humans in 1975. It is not a fungus as someone else stated, but an apicomplexan related to Eimeria (coccidiosis). With the increasing number of immunocompromised people (AIDS, organ transplants, etc), it has shown to be a huge problem in these people. Children and the elderly are at the greatest risk. These cases just remind us of the increasing importance in the herp industry of proper handwashing, quarantines, and cage sanitation. Many animals including some people can become disease free carriers! This makes prevention at the utmost importance. I would recommend Nolvasan or concentrated hydrogen peroxide to clean contaminated surfaces. Jeff, I'm sorry to hear about your case, the CDC was probably interested because most people have a favorable immune response against it, and it clears up within a week. I bet you had three weeks of hell. If you feel that you may have a case of it inform your veterinarian as fecal spores are tough to view under normal microscopy. This is not a disease you want your children to contract. (information from Foundations of Parasitology, Schmidt and Roberts)
Thanks
J. Dustin Loy

thanks for the information. im only glad i have used saniatary measures around any of my lizards all the time.

Are you sure it was Cryptosporidium Parvum found in the reptiles? I would be very interested in finding out more about the case if that is correct. It is very unusual for C. parvum to be found in reptiles and it has only been documented in mammals. I am working on C. serpentis in some snakes of mine at the moment but if C. parvum was found in herps, that could make for some interesting research too.

Thanks,
Kayla

Kayla,

I have a friend overseas that has been having some problems with cryptosporidium. Do you mind if I give him your e-mail for advice?

Thanks.

Not at all! I hope I can help. I have actually passed my research on to an A&M vet student because I couldn't risk my present herp collection catching it. (Even though I am VERY careful about cleanliness in my herp room, there is always a chance.) I will keep posting updates on how the research is going as I find out.

Thanks,
Kayla

Kayla,

Thanks for the prompt reply. There are different comercial names for the drug NITAZOXANIDE (Daxon, Alinia, Cryptaz, NTZ, Paramix). Do you know if they can be bought over the counter here in the US?

Regards.

I am fairly certain Nitazoxanide is a prescription drug, but I will ask around tomorrow to make sure. I know I had access to it at the A&M vet school to try on my boas and ball pythons, but we never got the chance to try it because my snakes seemed to "fix" themselves. I am very happy to say that have had it over a year and are doing fantastic.
I will post what I find out tomorrow.

Kayla

Thanks Kayla! I'll really appreciate it.

Regards.

Okay, Nitazoxanide is definitely a prescription medication. The Alinia brand is prescribed for use against Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia in people. Nitazoxanide has also been introduced into veterinary medicine to use in some formulation for horses. It is labeled for Cryptosporidium parvum (found in mammals) and as far as I know, no formal research has been done to see if it is effective against Cryptosporidium serpentis (found in reptiles).

Kayla