According to the Weekly Bulletin “Communicable Disease Threats Report” (Week 42, 15 – 21 October 2023), 51 cases of Cryptosporidiosis were detected in Irish tourists returning from Spain. There has been an increase in cases of this disease mainly due to the extreme weather conditions that have affected southern Europe this summer.
Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic disease, transmission is faecal-oral, via ingestion of infectious oocysts, by direct contact with infected persons or animals or through contaminated water and food. In healthy individuals, the infection can be asymptomatic, however, the most common presentation is watery diarrhoea that spontaneously resolves within a couple of weeks. In contrast, patients with impaired immune system may develop profuse, life-threatening, watery diarrhoea.
