Introduction Cryptosporidium parvum, a coccidian protozoan parasite, causes human Cryptosporidiosis which is most common in children of school going age. This disease has been emerged as a serious public health problem in Nepal. Objectives To determine the prevalence rate of C. parvum infection in relation to age and sex among children aged 0-15 years. Methods The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the period of May to October 2002 in Kanti Children Hospital, Kathmandu. During

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... x-month study period, 460 soft, loose or watery stool specimens were collected from children aged 0-15 years, and these specimens were examined by wet mount; concentration technique and modified Ziehl Neelson stain method. Results It was found that the prevalence rate for C. parvum infection was 10.4 percent; among which 56.3 percent specimens were found co-infected with other intestinal parasites such as Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Cyclospora, Entamoeba coli, Ascaris, Hookworm, Trichuris trichura, and Trichomonas hominis. Children aged between 4-6 years were mostly infected (16.1%) with C. parvum. It was observed that the infection rate was slightly higher among males (11.2%) than females (9.2%), but there was no statistically significant difference between male and female children regarding their age groups and C. parvum infection at α(0.05) level. The rate of infection (14.2%) was high in the month of July. It was found that the most common clinical symptoms among C. parvum positive cases were diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, fatigue, anorexia, nausea, fever, and weight loss. Conclusion C. parvum is equally probable to infect male and female children and is one of the important etiologic agents of gastroenteritis and diarrhoeal illness among children. Therefore, attention should be made for laboratory investigation of C. parvum while suspecting the diarrhoeal patients infected with other parasites.