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Hello, my name is Kevin Tyler.
I'm based at the Norwich
Medical School at
the University of East Anglia
on the Norwich Research Park
where we have one of the
largest communities of
Enteric Microbiologists
in Europe.
Today I'd like to talk to
you about Cryptosporidium,
a neglected disease
which is either
the most important or
one of the most
important causes of
diarrheal disease in terms of
human health and development.
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Cryptosporidiosis is
a globally important
neglected infectious disease.
Globally, infectious
disease remains
the main threat to
young children who
are particularly at
risk of contracting
respiratory, diarrheal, and
vector-spread diseases.
Some half a million
children under five
will die from
diarrheal infections,
which is approaching 10% of
the almost 6 million
deaths in this age group.
The threat is greatest where
sanitation is the poorest.
Of these deaths,
greater than 60,000 per year
are attributable to
Cryptosporidium.
It's about 12% of the total.
This is the largest single group
where no profile
axis is available.
There's no vaccine
for such children
and there are no effective
drugs for their treatment.
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Cryptosporidiosis fits
classical criteria that
have been laid out
by David Molyneux
in his introductory lecture
for a neglected
tropical disease.
It is a disease which
disproportionately
exerts its effects on
impoverished populations
without access to
good sanitation.
The link to sanitation
is indicative that
it is an enteric and water-borne
wash-related disease with
the features laid out in an
earlier lecture by Yael Velleman.
As such, it's one where
primary public
health-related interventions
involve improving water
sanitation and health.
But with the added complication,
as I'll mention later,
it is caused by
an organism which
resists chlorination.
It's a zoonotic disease and,
as I'll come to
later in the talk,
is subject to the
challenges and approaches
laid out by Eric Fevre
in his earlier lecture.
These characteristics of being
chlorination-resistant
and zoonotic mean that
the prevalence of
cryptosporidiosis is global.
It is widespread in
the most as well as
the least developed nations.
However, the vast majority of
the burden of
disease in terms of
morbidity, health,
and development,
fall squarely onto the poorest.
Lack of recognition
of its significance,
until very recently,
has meant that
it is a seriously under-researched
illness in spite of
the lack of an effective
drug or vaccine.
