Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. Infection in Renal Transplant and Hemodialysis Patients

Transplanted and hemodialysis patients are frequently affected by parasitic diseases such as cryptosporidiosis. Cryptosporidium is a parasite causing self-limited diarrhea and enteritis in healthy individuals. The presence of Cryptosporidium infection was studied in three groups including 87 renal transplant patients, 103 hemodialysis patients, and 60 healthy individuals as the control group. Two stool specimens were obtained from each case. The specimens were concentrated by the formalin-ether method and two smears were prepared from each. The smears were stained by modified acid-fast method and were observed under a light microscope. Ten (11.5%) renal transplant and 4 (3.88%) hemodialysis patients were positive for Cryptosporidium infection. No positive results were obtained in the control group. The results showed a statistically significant difference between renal transplant and control groups (P= 0.02), but the difference between hemodialysis and control groups was not significant (P= 0.2). The results also showed that the rate of Cryptosporidium infection in renal transplant patients was much higher than hemodialysis patients. The susceptibility of renal transplant patients to Cryptosporidium infection is much more than other studied groups and this could be due to immunosuppressive therapy in these patients.