Cryptosporidium – An Emerging Pathogen
Disease causing agents can be broken up into three groups; Bacteria, Viruses and Protozoa. Cryptosporidium belongs to the third group, Protozoa. The word protozoa comes from the Greek word for ‘little animal’.
One aspect of Cryptosporidium which makes it problematic from a water treatment perspective is that at one stage in its life cycle it produces small spore like bodies known as cysts. These cysts have a hard outer wall which makes them resistant to chlorine and they can survive for months in a cold, damp environment.
