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Although a less common cause of gastrointestinal illness in transplant recipients than bacterial or viral etiologies, intestinal parasitic infections can result in severe and prolonged disease in this population. In the developed world, diagnostic delays stemming from low clinical suspicion for intestinal parasites (and the limitations of standard diagnostics) can worsen outcomes in these patients. As travel becomes more frequent among patients both before and after transplant, and with the increasing availability of transplant services globally, clinicians everywhere should be aware of the risk of intestinal parasitic infections in transplant recipients. In this chapter, we review several intestinal protozoans and the diseases they cause in the transplant population, including Cryptosporidium spp., Cyclospora cayetanensis, Cystoisospora belli, Giardia spp., Blastocystis spp., Entamoeba histolytica, Dientamoeba fragilis, and Balantidium coli. We also review several intestinal helminths and the diseases they cause in transplant recipients, including Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Capillaria spp., hookworms, and tapeworms.

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-01751-4_57-1