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Cryptosporidium DNA

Cryptosporidiosis is an illness caused by protozal parasites called Cryptosporidium.

These parasites have a large animal reservoir and infection is largely through consumption of contaminated water. Asymptomatic carriage can also occur. Infection with Cryptosporidium has been associated with large outbreaks in Ireland.

Although the illness is usually self limiting it can be more severe in immunosuppressed individuals leading to chronic diarrhoea and malabsorption. Molecular testing offers an alternative to traditional diagnosis based on microscopy.

Clinical Details

The most common symptom of Cryptosporidium is watery diarrhoea but other symptoms include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Symptoms generally begin 2 to 10 days after exposure and usually last about 1 to 2 weeks in immunocompetent people but there may be an occasional reoccurrence of symptoms which may come and go for up to 30 days. Individuals remain infectious for as long as visible oocytes are excreted in stool and certainly while diarrhoea is present. Generally, the infectivity period lasts for between 2 and 4 weeks but shedding may continue for up to 2 months after symptoms subside.

Case Study
At Enfer Medical, we have integrated a cutting-edge and fully automated WASPLab® (Walk Away Specimen Processor) that has significantly enhanced our testing capabilities to ensure the highest of quality when processing patient samples.
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WASPLab® at Enfer Medical
Our entire microbiology workflow has been optimized using automation and highly sophisticated robots to ensure uninterrupted incubation for rapid bacterial growth and improved turnaround times for patients.
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Our Services

Service
Health & Wellness
General health and wellness testing can include a variety of tests, depending on the needs of the individual or recommendations of
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Service
Sexual Health
Regular STI screening facilitates early treatment and reduces the long-term consequences of infection.
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Service
Respiratory Health
Rapid early pathogen identification has important treatment and infection control implications. See our range of tests here.
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Service
Reproductive & Female Health
Hormonal analysis is hugely beneficial to identifying problems that can arise during the reproductive years.
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Service
All Services
View the full suite of services at Enfer Medical here.......
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Sample Type &
Volume Required

Loose/liquid human faecal sample.

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Panel Tests
The pathogens detected on this panel are:
Bacteria Viruses Parasites
Campylobacter Adenovirus F40/41 Cryptosporidium
Clostridium difficile toxin A/B Astrovirus Cyclospora cayetanensis
Plesiomonas shigelloides Rotavirus  A Entamoeba histolytica
Salmonella Novovirus GI/GII Giardia lamblia
Vibrio  Sapovirus (Genogroups I, II, IV and V)
Yersinia enterocolitica
Escherichia coli/Shigella
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Transporting
Samples

In addition to the packaging of samples, the transport/delivery of clinical samples to the laboratory is required to be in adherence to all national regulations for the safe transport of biological materials. Enfer Medical provides a fully compliant logistics service, aligned with clients’ testing requirements.

Prompt transport of specimens:
To ensure prompt testing of samples and release of results within the published test turnaround times, samples should arrive to the laboratory by 18:00. Test turnaround time is measured from receipt of the sample at the laboratory until the time the authorised results are reported to users.

Acceptance/Rejection
of Samples

In rare cases specimens may not be suitable for testing on arrival to the laboratory. In that case the sample will be rejected at the receipt stage and the service user will be notified immediately and an explanation as to why the sample could not be processed will be provided. Reasons why samples cannot be processed include but are not limited to:

  • Samples received beyond the stability limits and/or not at the correct temperature indicated for each test.
  • Incorrect sample type received.
  • Leaking samples, sample not received or sample insufficient for analysis as stated below within sample requirements.
  • Non-compliant samples or request forms i.e. those missing sample date information, missing sample test request and/or missing sample site/type information.
  • Samples received without the necessary patient identifiers.
Clients will be provided with guidance on Sample Receipt Anomalies.

Our Services

Service
Health & Wellness
General health and wellness testing can include a variety of tests, depending on the needs of the individual or recommendations of
Find Out More
Service
Sexual Health
Regular STI screening facilitates early treatment and reduces the long-term consequences of infection.
Find Out More
Service
Respiratory Health
Rapid early pathogen identification has important treatment and infection control implications. See our range of tests here.
Find Out More
Service
Reproductive & Female Health
Hormonal analysis is hugely beneficial to identifying problems that can arise during the reproductive years.
Find Out More
Service
All Services
View the full suite of services at Enfer Medical here.......
Find Out More
Result Values:
Qualitative results will be reported for each pathogen as:
Qualitative results
  • DETECTED
  • NOT DETECTED
  • INVALID
Please note this is a notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 53 of 2020) February 2020.

Please refer to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre for the Case Definitions for Notifiable Diseases:

HPSC Link
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