• To obtain prevalence data onCryptosporidiuminfection in healthy US adults and to determine how oftenCryptosporidiuminfection occurs after relocation to a situation of potentially great exposure, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for anti-CryptosporidiumIgM or IgG was used to examine serum from 75 US Peace Corps volunteers before overseas service and after up to two years in West Africa. Of the volunteers, 32% had detectable anti-CryptosporidiumIgG initially, suggesting that infection sometime in life is common. After six weeks, one year, or two years overseas, 5% (1/19), 14% (8/56), and 13.6% (3/22), respectively, became newly IgG positive. This implies that the risk of acquiringCryptosporidiuminfection and its associated diarrhea is real for travelers and temporary workers in endemic areas. Persistence of IgG and/or IgM response for 12 months or more occurred in some volunteers, although the significance is unclear. (Arch Intern Med1989;149:894-897)
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B. L. Ungar (1989) studied this question.