The first recorded outbreak of cryptosporidiosis due to Cryptosporidium cuniculus (formerly rabbit genotype), following a water quality incident

Background: We report the first identified outbreak of cryptosporidiosis with Cryptosporidium cuniculus following a water quality incident in Northamptonshire, UK. Methods: A standardised, enhanced Cryptosporidium exposure questionnaire was administered to all cases of cryptosporidiosis after the incident. Stool samples, water testing, microscopy slides and rabbit gut contents positive for Cryptosporidium were typed at the Cryptosporidium Reference Unit, Singleton Hospital, Swansea. Results: Twenty-three people were microbiologically linked to the incident although other evidence suggests an excess of 422 cases of cryptosporidiosis above baseline. Most were adult females; unusually for cryptosporidiosis there were no affected children identified under the age of 5 years. Water consumption was possibly higher than in national drinking water consumption patterns. Diarrhoea duration was negatively correlated to distance from the water treatment works where the contamination occurred. Oocyst counts were highest in water storage facilities. Conclusions: This outbreak is the first caused by C. cuniculus infection to have been noted and it has conclusively demonstrated that this species can be a human pathogen. Although symptomatically similar to cryptosporidiosis from C. parvum or C. hominis, this outbreak has revealed some differences, in particular no children under 5 were identified and females were over-represented. These dissimilarities are unexplained although we postulate possible explanations

What is the clinical significance of filamentous fungi positive sputum cultures in patients with cystic fibrosis?

AbstractIn patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), the isolation of filamentous fungi, in particular Aspergillus spp. in the respiratory secretions is a common occurrence. Most of these patients do not fulfil the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). The clinical relevance of filamentous fungi and whether antifungal therapy should be started in patients with persistent respiratory exacerbations who do not respond to two or more courses of appropriate oral or intravenous antibiotics and in whom no other organisms are isolated from respiratory secretions is a dilemma for the CF clinician. In this article, we review the epidemiology and clinical significance of filamentous fungi in the non-ABPA CF lung, with an emphasis on Aspergillus spp. colonisation (AC), the clinical relevance of Aspergillus spp. positive respiratory cultures and the outcome following antifungal therapy in these patients

Chronic Aspergillus fumigatus colonisation of the paediatric cystic fibrosis airway is common and may be associated with a more rapid decline in lung function

Filamentous fungi are commonly isolated from the respiratory tract of CF patients, but their clinical significance is uncertain and the reported incidence variable. We report on the degree of Aspergillus fumigatus airway colonization in a tertiary pediatric CF cohort, evaluate the sensitivity of routine clinical sampling at detecting A. fumigatus, and compare lung function of A. fumigatus-colonized and non-colonized children. We carried out an 8-year retrospective cohort analysis using local databases, examining 1024 respiratory microbiological specimens from 45 children. Nineteen (42%) had a positive A. fumigatus culture at least once during the 8-year period, with 10 (22%) children persistently colonized. Overall, 29% of 48 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples tested positive for A. fumigatus, compared with 14% of 976 sputum samples. Of 33 children for whom lung function data were available during the study period, seven were classed as having severe lung disease, of whom four (57%) were persistently colonized with A. fumigatus. We conclude that chronic A. fumigatus colonization of the CF airway is common, and may be associated with worse lung function. In our practice, BAL appears superior at detecting lower airway A. fumigatus compared to sputum samples