隐孢子虫对于水传播疾病来说是相当新的。1976年首次被确认为人类病原体，它导致了许多水传播疾病的暴发，尤其是最近威斯康星州密尔沃基的暴发。，爆发隐孢子虫似乎在环境中广泛存在，很难检测到。虽然已知它会引起胃肠道不适，但感染剂量尚不清楚。更为复杂的是，一些由隐孢子虫引起的水传播疾病的暴发实际上可能是由多种因素引起的，包括难以控制的因素- 检测病毒。对最近疫情的回顾表明，往往是多种原因造成的。隐孢子虫难以杀灭；氯和氯胺无效。臭氧是最有效的消毒剂，但过滤和流域保护是对抗微生物的唯一常规控制措施。尽管地表水处理规则（SWTR）目前没有对隐孢子虫进行监管，但该病原体已被美国环保局列入饮用水优先监管名单，因此加强SWTR将为隐孢子虫设定最高污染水平为零的目标。 本文概述了隐孢子虫的相关信息。包括27个参考文献，表1。

Cryptosporidium is rather new to the waterborne disease game. First recognized as a human pathogen in 1976, it has been responsible for a number of outbreaks of waterborne disease, most notably the recent Milwaukee, Wisc., outbreak. Cryptosporidium appears to be widespread in the environment and is difficult to detect. While it is known to cause gastrointestinal distress, the infective dose is not known. Complicating matters is the fact that some outbreaks of waterborne disease attributed to cryptosporidium may in fact be cause by multiple factors, including hard-to-detect viruses. A review of recent outbreaks reveals that often, multiple causes are to blame. Cryptosporidium is difficult to kill; chlorine and chloramines are ineffective. Ozone is the most effective disinfectant, but filtration and watershed protection are the only conventional control practices available for fighting the microorganism. Although the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) does not regulate Cryptosporidium at present, the pathogen is on the USEPA's Drinking Water Priority List for possible regulation, and then Enhanced SWTR will set a maximum contaminant level goal of zero for Cryptosporidium. This article presents a good overview of information about Cryptosporidium. Includes 27 references, table.