Cryptosporidia are oocysts.... not bacteria. Probably they contaminated
the water supply. This has happened in a few areas in US + Britain and
can cause widespread infection in populations. Water treatment plants
usually screen for Cryptosporidia but sometimes they slip through the
net obviously. Although it is a self limiting disease... diarrhoea can
last for a week or so... it can be a major problem for immunocompromised
patients.
Anne
*selah* wrote:
>> I was wondering what the arguments are against the existence of these
> bacteria? There was an epidemic of cryptosporidium in Milwaukee that
> caused over 400,000 people to be infected. What do these scientists think
> happened there?
>> On Wed, 07 Jul 1999 13:01:49 -0500, Timothy Paustian
> <paustian at bact.wisc.edu> wrote:
> >*selah* wrote:
> >>
> >> I was wondering if the "ultra"-bacteria (bacteria the size of viruses such
> >> as crytosporidium, etc.) are as resistant to heat sterilization as other
> >> bacteria - i.e. needing 120 degrees C for 20 minutes - or if it's like
> >> viruses needing only 80 degrees C for a minutes or so.
> >>
> >> Thanks.
> >>
> >
> >Ultrasmall bacteria are still controversial. They really haven't proven
> >to many scientists that they do exist. I would speculate that they are
> >as heat resistant as other bacteria, but that entirely depends upon the species.
> >
> >--
> >Cheers,
> >
> >Timothy Paustian
> >Univ.of Wisconsin-Madison
> >Madison, WI
> >http://www.bact.wisc.edu/gradstudies/paustian.html>> --
> Remove iii from address to reply.
