Treatment usually focuses on rest and control of dehydration. As of November 1995 there were nine drugs for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis in some stage of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval process. Exposure routes include handling diapers from an infected child or caring for an infected patient, handling or coming into contact with infected pets or animals, or through contact with contaminated food or water. Exposure to waterborne Crypto in lakes, swimming and wading pools and public water supplies poses the greatest threat because of the potential to infect large numbers of people very quickly. Surface waters are the most common source where oocysts can be detected.
Contamination depends on both the characteristics and degree of protection of the watershed.
Surface waters are contaminated in two major ways. Wastewater treatment plants that discharge effluent may contain oocysts thus becoming a significant source of contamination. Effluents of wastewater treatment plants are commonly discharged to surface streams. Runoff from agricultural husbandry operations is another source of contamination which could be of more concern than human effluent discharge. However, with inconclusive data, the source and transmission route of most concern to humans cannot yet be determined.