Diagnostic Findings [Last Modified: ]
Cryptosporidiosis
[Cryptosporidium spp.]
Causal Agent Life Cycle Geographic Distribution Clinical Features Laboratory Diagnosis Treatment

Enzyme immunoassays
At least four commercial EIA tests (see Table below) have been introduced for the detection of cryptosporidial antigens in stool samples.  These kits are reportedly superior to conventional microscopic examination (especially acid-fast staining methods) and show good correlation with the monoclonal antibody-based immunofluorescence assays.  Kit sensitivities and specificities ranged from 66.3% to 100% and 93% to 100%, respectively (see Table).

Commercially available diagnostic kits for detection of Cryptosporidium spp.
(primarily in clinical specimens; partial list)

Kit Name
(Clinical specimens)		 Manufacturer/ distributor Type of test1
 Sensitivity2
 Specificity2
 Comparison test Reference
ProSpecT/ Cryptosporidium Alexon, Inc. EIA-plate 97
98
96
94
(97)		 98
98
99.5
99
(98)		 acid-fast stain, IIF3
acid-fast stain
M-DIF4
M-DIF4, acid-fast,
Color Vue		 1
2
3
4
IDEIA Cryptosporidium Dako Corp. EIA-plate 100
(93.1)		 100
(98.7)		 auramine stain, N-DIF5 5
MeriFluor™ Cryptosporidium/Giardia Meridian Diagnostics, Inc. DFA, IgG 100
96
(100)		 100
100
(100)		 acid-fast stain
acid-fast, ProSpecT, Color Vue		 6
4
Color Vue Cryptosporidium Seradyn, Inc. EIA-plate 93
76
94
(92)		 93
100
100
(100)		 IIF3
M-DIF4
M-DIF4, acid-fast,
ProSpecT		 7
3
4
Cryptosporidium Antigen Detection Microwell ELISA LMD Laboratories EIA-plate 66.3
93		 99.8
99		 acid-fast, auramine
IIF3		 8
9

1EIA = enzyme immunoassay; DFA = direct immunofluorescence assay, IIF = indirect immunofluorescence assay, NA = not available
2Percent specificity or specificity compared to conventional methods, numbers in parentheses indicate values reported by the manufacturer
3IIF = indirect immunofluorescence (MeriFluor Cryptosporidium/Giardia assay)
4M-DIF = direct immunofluorescence (MeriFluor Cryptosporidium/Giardia assay)
5N-DIF = direct immunofluorescence (DetectIF Cryptosporidium, Shield Diagnostics, Ltd.)

References:

  1. Xia Z, Sonnad S, Turner S, Marasigan M. Evaluation of a microtiter assay for detection of Cryptosporidium antigen in stool. 92nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, LA. 1992. p. 106.
  2. Dagan R, Fraser D, El-On J, Kassis I, Deckelbaum R, Turner S. Evaluation of an enzyme immunoassay for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. in stool specimens from infants and young children in field studies. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1995;52:134.
  3. Aarnaes SL, Blanding J, Speier S, Forthal D, de la Maza LM, Peterson EM. Comparison of the ProSpecT and Color Vue enzyme-linked immunoassays for the detection of Cryptosporidium in stool specimens. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 1994;19:221.
  4. Kehl KSC, Cicirello H, Havens PL. Comparison of four different methods for detection of Cryptosporidium species. J. Clin Microbiol 1995;33:416.
  5. Siddons CA, Chapman PA, Rush BA. Evaluation of an enzyme immunoassay kit for detecting Cryptosporidium in faeces and environmental samples. J Clin Pathol 1992;45:479.
  6. Garcia LS, Shum AC, Bruckner DA. Evaluation of a new monoclonal antibody combination reagent for the direct fluorescent detection of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts in human fecal specimens. J Clin Microbiol 1992;30:3255.
  7. Sloan LM, Rosenblatt JE. Evaluation of an immunoassay for the detection of Cryptosporidium stool specimens. 91st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Dallas, TX. 1991. p. 22.
  8. Newman RD, Jaeger KL, Wuhib T, Lima AA, Guerrant RL, Sears CL. Evaluation of an antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts. J Clin Microbiol 1993;31:2080.
  9. Rosenblatt JE, Sloan LM. Evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Cryptosporidium spp. in stool specimens. J Clin Microbiol 1993;31:1468.
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