How does cryptosporidiosis affect someone with a weakened immune system?
In persons with severely weakened immune systems, especially those with AIDS, cryptosporidiosis can be serious, long-lasting and sometimes deadly. If your CD4 cell count is below about 200, you are more likely to have diarrhea and other symptoms for a long time. If your CD4 count is above 200 and you get crypto you may feel better in about one to three weeks, but you might still have the infection and be able to pass it to others even after you feel better. If you are still infected and your CD4 count later drops below 200, the crypto may act up again. How is cryptosporidiosis spread? You can get crypto when you put anything in your mouth that has touched the “stool” (that is, bowel movement) of a person or animal with cryptosporidiosis. Cryptosporidia are too small to be seen without a microscope the naked eye. Cryptosporidiosis is not spread in blood. The most common ways you can get crypto are touching your mouth before washing your hands and after touching the stool of infected per
