Destroy All Humans: What Crypto’s Name REALLY Means

The Furon Cryptosporidium, also known as Crypto, just wants to save his race from cloning themselves to extinction in Destroy All Humans! Crypto has to collect ancient Furon DNA that’s locked inside human brain stems to bring back to his people. As the title implies, he’s going to shock, shoot, and blow up just about anything in his way to achieving that goal. What Crypto doesn’t do to the humans in-game is give them watery diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. The name Cryptosporidium is actually a microscopic parasite that causes a diarrheal disease known as cryptosporidiosis. Both the parasite and the disease are frequently referred to as just Crypto.

Crypto’s personality is just as destructive as the disease. He’s aggressive, rude, and doesn’t seem to care much about his destructive methods. In fact, a majority of the time, that’s his preferred way of getting anything done. Similar to decades-old alien invasion movies, Crypto’s got all the tools necessary to ravage humanity including a jetpack, spaceship, and psychokinesis powers.

The CDC says there are many species of Cryptosporidium that infect animals, but it can also affect humans as well. The parasite can spread in different ways, but drinking contaminated water is the most common. In most infections, Cryptosporidium produces a short period of intense, watery diarrhea. The infection usually lasts about a week or two, but people with compromised immune systems can have life-threatening symptoms. Cryptosporidium parasites can be found throughout the whole world, and the United States sees around 748,000 cases each year.

Cryptosporidium the Parasite

Cryptosporidium lives in the lower intestine of humans or animals. Infected people can shed several thousand Cryptosporidium germs in a single bowel movement, but it only takes as little as 10 germs to cause infection. Similar to how Crypto’s race in Destroy All Humans! is on a constant quest to continue their lineage through cloning, Cryptosporidium is nearly impossible to eradicate completely due to the excessive shedding. Shedding in a person’s poop can last for several weeks, and enter all sorts of water sources like swimming pools and lakes. Cryptosporidium is also very tolerant of chlorine, making it even easier to spread in public pools. Luckily, most people with the disease recover without treatment. Crypto’s methods, on the other hand, don’t seem to have that high of a recovery rate.

A remake for the original Destroy All Humans! will release soon on July 28th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. THQ Nordic recently revealed that a “lost level” cut from the original Destroy All Humans! will be included in the remake. For those too antsy to wait for the release, a demo is now available on Steam.

Source: CDC