ABSTRACT
Some species of Cryptosporidium infect many host species, whereas others appear restricted to groups such as rodents or ruminants, and others are known to infect only one host species. Some species primarily infect the stomach, whereas others primarily infect the intestine. Ernest Edward Tyzzer identified the parasite as a sporozoan of uncertain taxonomic status and named it Cryptosporidium muris. In 1910, he described the parasite in greater detail, again in the gastric glands of tame varieties of the common mouse, and proposed the name Cryptosporidium as a new genus and C. muris as the type species. In 2006, in an attempt to clarify species classification, Slapeta proposed that the name C. pestis replace C. parvum for the zoonotic species prevalent in cattle that became the default species for many subsequent studies on human and mammalian cryptosporidiosis. Cryptosporidiosis is transmitted via the fecal-oral route by the oocyst stage.
