Vande Burgt, Nathan H.Nathan H.Vande BurgtAuer, AgatheAgatheAuerZintl, AnnettaAnnettaZintl2019-04-112019-04-112018 Elsev2018-04Experimental Parasitologyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10197/9922The water-borne protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum forms oocysts that can persist for long periods of time in the environment, even though the sporozoites inside the oocysts may no longer be viable, making it difficult to assess the associated risk of infection. In this study, we compared the ability of various in vitro methods to discriminate viable from non-viable oocysts, including excystation, DAPI/PI staining, RNA FISH, PMA-qPCR and a novel polymer slide adhesion method. With the notable exception of our in vitro excystation protocol, all methods were found to be useful for identifying viable oocysts.enThis is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Experimental Parasitology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Experimental Parasitology (187, (2018)) DOI:10.1016/j.exppara.2018.03.002PMA-qPCRPolymer adhesionFluorescence in-situ hybridizationExcystationPropidium iodideJournal Article187303610.1016/j.exppara.2018.03.0022018-03-14FIRM 14 F847https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ie/