Epidemiological and Molecular Studies of Cryptosporidium among Pediatric cancer Children Patients at Basrah Children’s Specialty Teaching Hospital, Basrah, Iraq

Vollständiger Abstract

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In the present study, 99 stool samples were examined from pediatric cancer patients in the province during the period from January to December 2025, in order to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection among children with cancer who were hospitalized in the Basrah Children’s Specialty Teaching Hospital. The study also aimed to evaluate and compare the results of microscopic diagnosis of the parasite using modified Ziehl–Neelsen stain with the results of molecular diagnosis using conventional PCR and nested PCR. The highest infection rate (66.5%) was recorded in June, followed by October and November. The present study showed that the highest percentage of infection (80%) occurred in patients with bone marrow cancer, while the lowest rate (28.57%) was recorded in patients with kidney cancer, with a statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.000). Regarding age groups, the highest infection rate (62%) was observed in the age group ≤ 6 years, whereas the lowest rate (52.63%) was found in the age group 7–12 years, also without a significant difference. The infection rate in males (60%) was higher than in females (53.06%), with no statistically significant difference between them. Regarding the oocyst count per microscopic field, the highest number of oocysts (18 oocysts) was recorded in the group 11-50 and with more than 50 oocysts per field, whereas the lowest count (3 oocysts) was observed in the group with one oocyst per field, with a significant difference (P ≤ 0.009) with respect to the number of chemotherapy doses, the results revealed that the highest infection rate (80%) was observed among patients who received more than 20 treatment doses, and the lowest rate (39.13%) among those who received 6–10 doses, with a significant difference (P ≤ 0.0001). Overall, 56.57% of stool samples were positive by microscopic examination, while 69.2% of stool samples were positive using conventional PCR. Using nested PCR, C. parvum and C. hominis gave 20% and 13.04% respectively.