These observations strongly indicate that this co-infection is correlated with the level of immune suppression of the host and are also consistent with a meta-analysis from Ethiopia indicating that HIV-infected people with a low CD4+ T cell count (CD4 < 200 cells/mm3) were 13.07 times more likely to become persistently infected with Cryptosporidium spp. The gene discussed is CD4; the disease is coinfection.