微小隐孢子虫目前被认为是世界范围内最重要的农业水污染物之一。虽然大多数国家尚不具备从饮用水中去除这种病原体的相关成本，但预计英国每年的成本在2500万至6600万英镑之间。为了检测饮用水中是否存在活卵囊，通常使用体外培养系统。在过去的十年里，微小隐孢子虫的体外培养取得了重大进展，如今，大量无性和有性阶段可以在细胞培养中生长。然而，尽管在生命早期可以实现令人印象深刻的生物放大- 寄生虫的周期，在这些细胞培养系统中产生大量卵囊仍然是一个长期目标。影响寄生虫体外发育的因素有很多，包括卵囊年龄、卵囊菌株、采用的纯化程序类型、接种剂量、宿主细胞类型和培养基补充。这些因素中的任何一个都可能决定体外系统的成败。以下简要介绍了影响这种寄生虫在细胞培养中生长的几个重要参数，并提供了数据证明，即使是方案中的微小变化也可能对实验的成功或失败产生显著影响。包括24个参考文献、表格和图表。

Cryptosporidium parvum is now considered one of the most important agricultural contaminants of water worldwide. Although costs associated with removal of this pathogen from drinking water are not yet available for most countries, estimates ranging from 25 to 66 million pounds annually are projected for the United Kingdom. In order to detect whether viable oocysts are present within drinking water supplies, the use of in vitro cultivation systems are commonly employed. Significant advancements in the in vitro cultivation of Cryptosporidium parvum have been achieved within the last decade, and today large numbers of asexual and sexual stages can be grown in cell cultures. However, despite the impressive bioamplification that can be achieved early in the life-cycle of the parasite, generation of significant numbers of oocysts in these cell culture systems still remains a long range goal. Multiple factors influence parasite development in vitro, including age of oocysts, strain of oocyst, types of purification procedures employed, inoculation dose, host cell type, and medium supplements. Any one of these factors may make the difference between success or failure of an in vitro system. The following represents a synopsis of several important parameters affecting growth of this parasite in cell culture, and presents data demonstrat ing that even slight variations in protocol may have a pronounced effect on the success or failure of an experiment. Includes 24 references, table, figures.