UGA scientist calls for crypto cure

A recent study involving more than 22,000 children in Africa and Asia revealed that the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium is one of four pathogens responsible for the largest part of severe diarrhea in infants and toddlers. Given that there is no fully effective drug or vaccine against “crypto,” this is a worrying discovery, says Boris Striepen in a Comment piece in this week’s Nature magazine. He notes, “The basic research tools and infrastructure needed to discover, evaluate and develop such interventions are mostly lacking.” Striepen, a professor and Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator at the University of Georgia Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, makes a plea for more research and funding to find effective treatment and prevention for crypto. “There is a tremendous need and an opportunity for this research,” Striepen said. “We knew this was an important disease for some time, but we didn’t really understand the magnitude until the recent...