Performance of a rapid diagnostic test for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. in African children admitted to hospital with diarrhea

Background Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that causes mild to severe diarrhoeal disease in humans. To date, several commercial companies have developed rapid immunoassays for the detection of Cryptosporidium infection. However, the challenge is to identify an accurate, simple and rapid diagnostic tool for the estimation of cryptosporidiosis burden. This study aims at evaluating the accuracy of CerTest Crypto, a commercialized rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for the detection of Cryptosporidium antigens in the stool of children presenting with diarrhoea. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in four study sites in Sub-Saharan Africa (Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, and Tanzania), from…