Prevalence of Cryptosporidiosis among  Children with Diarrhoea Under Five years Admitted to Kosti Teaching Hospital, Kosti City, Sudan.

Abstract Background: Cryptosporidiosis is a disease caused by infection with an intestinal coccidian parasite Cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium species are the second leading cause of diarrheal disease and death in children in developing countries. Until now, no data have been available or published on its prevalence rate among children with diarrhoea in Sudan. This paper was therefore, designed to determine the prevalence rate of Cryptosporidium among diarrhoeic children under 5 years admitted to Kosti Teaching Hospital. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study including children with ages under 5 years old admitted to the paediatric section of the hospital between September 2020 and December 2020. A total of one-hundred and fifty stool samples were collected. All stool samples were examined using the modified Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) staining technique, and examined microscopically for Cryptosporidium infection. Results: A total of 150 children were examined out of which 70 presented with diarrhoea. A greater prevalence of 19/70 (27.1%) of Cryptosporidium was observed in children with diarrhoea than children without diarrhoea 7/80 (8.8%). There was a significant relationship between the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and the presence of diarrhoea in children under 5 years in Kosti Teaching Hospital(P<0.05). It was found that a higher prevalence was registered among children using pipe water for drinking.Conclusions: The overall prevalence of parasite detected was 17.3% among children admitted to Kosti Teaching Hospital. The prevalence rate of the infection among Children with diarrhoea was 27.1%. Studying the prevalence rate of cryptosporidiosis among diarrheic children may predict their health status, leading to a better diagnosis, treatment, and therefore, patients' status improvement.