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Field studies of Cryptosporidiosis and Enteropathogens in Bangladesh

Cryptosporidiosis causes severe diarrhea in infants in the developing world. There is no vaccine to prevent it, and little in the way of treatment. This study on Bangladeshi urban slum children aims to support the design of a vaccine, both by determining how the immune system protects from infection and by identifying the genotypes of the parasite that should be included in a vaccine, as well as aid in development of therapies by identifying human genes that control infection.

The primary objective of the study was to determine the incidence and contribution to disease of the different species and genotypes of cryptosporidia. Secondary objectives were designed to determine acquired immune response to cryptosporidiosis and identify human genes that influence susceptibility to cryptosporidiosis.

This is an observational study. Children were recruited from Mirpur Dhaka slum (Cohort 1) and rural Mirzapur (Cohort 2) and followed for cryptosporidium infection longitudinally from birth through age 4 years in Cohort 1 and birth through age 2 years in Cohort 2. Biweekly household visits for diarrheal surveillance were made in addition to anthropometric measurements of mother and child, blood samples collected two times each year from the child, a work-up of diarrheal stools and non-diarrheal surveillance stools for cryptosporidium and other enteropathogens, and blood and breast milk samples from the mother.

A detailed description of the study design and procedures can be obtained from publication: Kevin L Steiner, et al., 2018, PMID: 29897482.