One of the most common waterborne diseases worldwide is cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic disease affecting the small intestine and possibly our airways. It is a common cause of diarrhea in HIV-positive patients, who are known to have lower immunity. Now, Kazeem Oare Okosun from Vaal University of Technology in South Africa, and colleagues from Pakistan and Nigeria, have developed a new model and numerical simulations to determine the optimal combination of prevention and treatment strategies for controlling both diseases in patients who have been co-infected. Their results, recently published in EPJ Plus, show a positive impact on the treatment and prevention for cryptosporidiosis alone, for HIV-AIDS alone, or for both together.
Although there are many mathematical models on HIV infection, there are far fewer for cryptosporidiosis. And, until now, there was no co-infection model for cryptosporidiosis and HIV-AIDS. The authors examined what happens to patients presenting both infections when they are subjected to five prevention methods and treatments for cryptosporidiosis alone, for HIV-AIDS alone and for both at specific intervals. They then explored their effects on the co-infection by performing numerical analyses.
They found that cryptosporidiosis preventions and treatment alone had no significant impact on reducing HIV-AIDS-related problems. By contrast, the prevention and treatment strategy for HIV-AIDS had a significant positive impact on the co-infected patients. Finally, applying both strategies at the same time resulted in reduction in all cases. They also found that, when both diseases were treated at the same time, it had a positive impact in cryptosporidiosis patients and on the level of environmental contamination, with no difference in the co-infected cases.
Reference: K.O. Okosun , M.A. Khan, E. Bonyah, S.T. Ogunlade (2017), On the dynamics of HIV-AIDS and cryptosporidiosis, European Physical Journal Plus, DOI 10.1140/epjp/i2017-11625-3
Source: Springer
How Contaminated Is Your Stretcher? The Hidden Risks on Hospital Wheels
July 3rd 2025Despite routine disinfection, hospital surfaces, such as stretchers, remain reservoirs for harmful microbes, according to several recent studies. From high-touch areas to damaged mattresses and the effectiveness of antimicrobial coatings, researchers continue to uncover persistent risks in environmental hygiene, highlighting the critical need for innovative, continuous disinfection strategies in health care settings.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides
June 26th 2025As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.