A parasite that gives stomach pain to the gardener.

During your gardening activities or the preparation of your compost, it is always important to adopt good sanitary practices. Wild birds and domestic animals can be carriers of pathogen diseases  and parasites. Very often, these diseases are carried by bird droppings and animal feces. Cryptosporidiosis is one of those infections that are caused by a small protozoan. Cryptosporidium can produce gastrointestinal upset with diarrhea. A person can become infected by ingesting oocysts. Thereafter, the parasite will migrate to the small intestine and lodged in the epithelial tissue.

Fortunately, in healthy people, this kind of infection is short. The risk is much higher in people with a weakened immune system. In some cases, this infection can be fatal.

To protect yourself against Cryptosporidium infection, do not use fecal matter from pets as fertilizer in your garden or as a material for your compost. Frequent hand washing is a good habit to adopt. Do not forget that very often Cryptosporidium is resistant to chlorine disinfection.