Cryptosporidiosis is an infection by the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium, an enteric pathogen that causes diarrhoeal disease in humans and animals [1][3]. The parasite is characterised by the shedding of environmentally resistant oocysts in the faeces of infected hosts and encompasses at least 44 recognised species and more than 120 genotypes, several of which are zoonotic [2].
Disease overview
ParasiticCryptosporidiosis
隐孢子虫病
Evidence-backed informationEN 5/7 applicable sections · ZH 5/7 applicable sectionsUpdated Sep 3, 2026
Cryptosporidiosis is an enteric infection caused by the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium, which is particularly suited to foodborne transmission and is responsible for more than eight million cases of foodborne illness annually worldwide [1]. The parasite is a significant cause of diarrhoea globally and is associated with numerous waterborne and foodborne outbreaks, with zoonotic transmission playing an important role in its epidemiology [2]. In low-resource settings, infection is linked to diarrhoea, malnutrition, growth stunting, cognitive deficits, and oral vaccine failure in children, making it a notable contributor to childhood morbidity [3].
Read the full clinical and epidemiological profile6
In children living in low-resource settings, cryptosporidiosis is associated with diarrhoea, malnutrition, growth stunting, cognitive deficits, and oral vaccine failure [3]. The clinical presentation reflects the enteric nature of the infection, with diarrhoea being the principal manifestation across affected populations [1][3]. As a parasitic disease, the severity of clinical outcome often depends on the immune status of the host [4].
Cryptosporidium is responsible for more than eight million cases of foodborne illness annually worldwide, contributing substantially to the economic burden of foodborne illness [1]. The parasite is a significant cause of diarrhoea globally and is responsible for numerous waterborne and foodborne outbreaks of disease [2]. At least 44 Cryptosporidium species and more than 120 genotypes have been recognised, with zoonotic transmission playing an important role in the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis [2].
Cryptosporidium is particularly suited to foodborne transmission and is also responsible for numerous waterborne outbreaks of disease [1][2]. Transmission occurs by the faecal-oral route, and zoonotic transmission has long been known to play an important role in the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis [2][5]. Sensitive detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts on fresh produce and molecular diagnostic assays have been widely used in case linkages and infection source tracking, particularly during outbreak investigations [1].
The implementation of food safety management tools, including Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) in industrialised nations, together with Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) interventions in developing countries, is central to the prevention and control of foodborne cryptosporidiosis [1]. Sensitive detection procedures for Cryptosporidium oocysts on fresh produce have been developed to support food safety, and the integrated use of advanced diagnostic techniques with conventional epidemiological studies is essential for improving understanding of occurrence, source, and epidemiology [1].
- 1Ryan U et al. Foodborne cryptosporidiosis. Int J Parasitol. 2018 Jan. PMID: 29122606. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2017.09.004.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29122606/
- 2Ryan UM et al. Taxonomy and molecular epidemiology of Cryptosporidium and Giardia - a 50 year perspective (1971-2021). Int J Parasitol. 2021 Dec. PMID: 34715087. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2021.08.007.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34715087/
- 3Love MS et al. Emerging treatment options for cryptosporidiosis. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2021 Oct 1. PMID: 34261904. doi: 10.1097/QCO.0000000000000761.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34261904/
- 4Theel ES et al. Parasites. Microbiol Spectr. 2016 Aug. PMID: 27726821. doi: 10.1128/microbiolspec.DMIH2-0013-2015.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27726821/
- 5Adkins PRF et al. Cryptosporidiosis. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract. 2022 Mar. PMID: 35219480. doi: 10.1016/j.cvfa.2021.11.009.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35219480/
Coverage
Reporting countries and regions
AustraliaAU
BelgiumBE
BulgariaBG
CanadaCA
CroatiaHR
CyprusCY
CzechiaCZ
EstoniaEE
FinlandFI
FranceFR
GermanyDE
GreeceGR
HungaryHU
IcelandIS
IrelandIE
ItalyIT
JapanJP
LatviaLV
LithuaniaLT
LuxembourgLU
MaltaMT
NetherlandsNL
New ZealandNZ
NorwayNO
PolandPL
PortugalPT
RomaniaRO
SlovakiaSK
SloveniaSI
SpainES
SwedenSE
United KingdomGB
United StatesUS
Trends by reporting country
Monthly patterns over time
Research Radar
Recent related research
Review and analysis of knowledge, tools, and implementation gaps for the control of cryptosporidiosis in livestock
BMC Veterinary Research
Prospective Cohort Study of Cryptosporidium Infection and Shedding in Infants and Their Households
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Literature links are provided for discovery and do not alter or validate the surveillance series above.
Data access
Page dataset index with source links and update metadata.
Official sourcesAuthority, cadence, notes46
Australia NINDSS
Australia
Australian national notifiable diseases surveillance dashboard.
Australia NINDSS — New South Wales
New South Wales, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for New South Wales, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Northern Territory
Northern Territory, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Northern Territory, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Queensland
Queensland, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Queensland, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — South Australia
South Australia, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for South Australia, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Tasmania
Tasmania, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Tasmania, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Victoria
Victoria, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Victoria, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Western Australia
Western Australia, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Western Australia, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Belgium Annual Baseline
Belgium
Belgium annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Bulgaria Annual Baseline
Bulgaria
Bulgaria annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Canada PHAC CNDSS Annual
Canada
Canada is the national jurisdiction; subdivision feeds are registered separately.
Public Health Ontario IDTO Monthly
Ontario, Canada
Ontario-level current-year preliminary monthly case counts from Public Health Ontario's IDTO report.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Cyprus Annual Baseline
Cyprus
Cyprus annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Czechia Annual Baseline
Czechia
Czechia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Germany RKI SurvStat 2.0
Germany
RKI SurvStat national weekly notification export; raw ZIP exports are retained and recent weeks are overwritten for revisions.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Estonia Annual Baseline
Estonia
Estonia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Spain Annual Baseline
Spain
Spain annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Finland THL Infectious Diseases Register
Finland
Finland THL Infectious Diseases Register national monthly case counts. The current month is ingested as provisional and the latest three months are refreshed for source revisions.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — France Annual Baseline
France
France annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — United Kingdom Annual Baseline
United Kingdom
United Kingdom annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Greece Annual Baseline
Greece
Greece annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Croatia Annual Baseline
Croatia
Croatia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Hungary Annual Baseline
Hungary
Hungary annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Ireland HPSC Notifiable Diseases Hub
Ireland
Ireland HPSC national weekly notifiable-disease totals from the official ArcGIS FeatureServer. Internal ingestion is enabled; public release remains disabled pending written redistribution permission.
Iceland Directorate of Health Annual Dashboard
Iceland
National annual case notifications by disease. Published values can be revised retrospectively and remain annual period totals.
Iceland Directorate of Health STI Dashboard
Iceland
Monthly STI diagnosis facts from laboratory and registry surveillance; the official dashboard is published on a quarterly schedule.
Iceland Directorate of Health Respiratory Dashboard
Iceland
ISO-week respiratory diagnosis counts. Hospitalizations, samples, and vaccination indicators are separate measures and are not counted as diagnoses.
Iceland Directorate of Health Historical Registry
Iceland
Historical official registry tables for 1997–2021, with annual totals and disease-specific monthly notification facts retained at source grain.
Iceland Directorate of Health Legacy ICD Monthly
Iceland
Historical Saga EHR ICD encounter counts for 1997–2020. This clinical measure is non-comparable with registry notifications and is kept separate.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Italy Annual Baseline
Italy
Italy annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
JP NIID Weekly
Japan
Japan weekly infectious disease surveillance via NIID/JIHS.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Lithuania Annual Baseline
Lithuania
Lithuania annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Luxembourg Annual Baseline
Luxembourg
Luxembourg annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Latvia Annual Baseline
Latvia
Latvia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Malta Annual Baseline
Malta
Malta annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Netherlands Annual Baseline
Netherlands
Netherlands annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Norway FHI MSIS Statistics Bank
Norway
Norway FHI MSIS national monthly notifications from the official Allvis frontend API; adapter contract checks guard the unversioned endpoint.
New Zealand PHF Science Monthly Notifiable Diseases
New Zealand
PHF Science (formerly ESR) monthly notifiable disease surveillance data via internal globalID2 crawler
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Poland Annual Baseline
Poland
Poland annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Portugal Annual Baseline
Portugal
Portugal annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Romania Annual Baseline
Romania
Romania annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Sweden Public Health Agency SmiNet
Sweden
Sweden SmiNet national monthly reported cases from the official Public Health Agency statistics pages; public release is enabled with closed-month publication and revisable recent-month refreshes.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Slovenia Annual Baseline
Slovenia
Slovenia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Slovakia Annual Baseline
Slovakia
Slovakia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
US CDC NNDSS
United States
CDC National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System provisional data.
US CDC NHSS HIV
United States
CDC NNDSS weekly data plus NHSS annual national HIV diagnoses