Cryptosporidium sickens 2,000 in Sweden
11/30/2010

OSTERSUND, SWEDEN — A case of Cryptosporidium contamination has prompted a criminal investigation in Sweden, United Press International reported.

Investigators are trying to find out how the intestinal parasite ended up in the town of Ostersund’s municipal water supply and whether it is the result of criminal negligence, the article stated.

More than 2,000 residents in the Swedish town became sick after drinking city water, according to the story.

“A stomach parasite that makes people and animals sick shouldn’t be released and it absolutely shouldn’t end up in municipal drinking water,” said environmental prosecutor Christer B. Jarlas.

To read the entire article, click here.

CDC reports increase in cases of cryptosporidiosis
6/11/2010

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the number of cases of cryptosporidiosis in the United States increased 80 percent from 2006 to 2007 and then decreased 10 percent in 2008, according to awwa.org.

CDC largely attributes incidence of cases to exposure among children in swimming pools and other recreational waters on a seasonal basis, the article stated.

Particularly, CDC partially attributes the increase in cases reported for 2007 and 2008 to “multiple large recreational water-associated outbreaks.”

Noting that the increase during 2006–2008 “is a continuation of the fourfold increase in cryptosporidiosis since 2005,” CDC reported that from 1988 through 2006, “Cryptosporidium was identified as the causal agent of 41.8 percent (100 of 239) of reported recreational water-associated outbreaks and of 5.7 percent (13 of 229) of reported drinking water-associated outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the United States.”

To read the entire article, click here.

Biochemist makes breakthrough in battle against Cryptosporidium
4/27/2010

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Liz Hedstrom, a Brandeis University biochemist, presented the latest research on Cryptosporidium in a speech at the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s annual meeting last Sunday, according to medicalnewstoday.com.

Hedstrom’s talk, titled “Targeting a prokaryotic protein in a eukaryotic parasite,” focused on her research on IMPDH, a key enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of RNA and DNA, the article stated.

According to the story, Hedstrom and her research partners showed that IMPDH inhibitors block Cryptosporidium from proliferating in vitro — a breakthrough that could lead to an effective treatment to prevent the waterborne parasite.

Hedstrom identified more than 50 compounds that block the action of Cryptosporidium IMPDH and is working on improving the compounds’ potency, bioavailability and metabolic stability, the report stated.

“It’s a difficult problem, but we think that we have some very promising compounds,” said Hedstrom.

To read the entire article, click here.

MIOX discovers why Cryptosporidium is resistant to chlorination
3/9/2010

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — MIOX Corporation has discovered one reason why Cryptosporidium parvum is resistant to chlorine, according to a press release.

In an article published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, Principal Microbiologist George Bajszar, Ph.D., explains that chlorine triggers a strong defensive molecular response to oxidative stress in the waterborne parasite, the release stated.

This response likely contributes to the high resistance of these waterborne pathogens to chlorination, according to the release.

These findings will enable MIOX and others in the drinking water community to develop more efficient disinfection protocols and analytical methods for the inactivation of chlorine-resistant microorganisms, the release stated.

To read the entire article, click here.