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Abstract Introduction: Cryptosporidiasis is one of the problems in patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs. Objectives: Considering the presence of broad range of clinical manifestations in such patients, following secondary infections, longevity of patients, the new methods of treatment and prevention, are continually changing. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine Cryptosporidium parvum in 100 patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs considered as the test group and another 100 patients with gastroenteritis but non-immunosuppressive drugs users as the control. Materials and Methods: In this case-control survey in Babol Amircola Children Hospital in Babol, 100 patients as test and 100 patients as control after being matched for sex, age, geographic conditions of the residing places (rural and urban areas) were studied. All the data concerning the patients such as age, sex, the kind of disease, the kind of drug used, the doses being used, contact with animals, the kind of drinking water, duration of chemotherapy and other clinical symptoms were obtained by questionnaire. From the test and control groups, stool samples were collected three times, and were stained by Ziehl- Neelsen and modified Ziehl- Neelsen methods. The results were analyzed statistically. Results: The results of the study indicated that the rates of infection in test and control groups were 5 % and 6% respectively. The average infection rate was (5.5 %). There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of infection between test and control groups (Z= 0.3). The highest rate of infection was observed in the age groups of 4-6 years and 6-8 years in the test and control groups, respectively. There was no significant difference between sex and the rate of infection. The highest rate of infection was observed in patients with acute lymphatic leukemia. The number of drugs used had no effect on the rate of infection. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that more accurate laboratory diagnostic methods for this parasite and more individuals with normal and suppressed immune system are required.

Keywords: Cryptosporidiasis, Gastroenteritis, Immunosuppressive Agents

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