Genotyping of Cryptosporidium parvum isolates in bovine population in Kolkata and characterization of new bovine genotypes

Periparturient rise in the Cryptosporidium oocyst count in Beetal goats and evaluation of infection in new born kids

In cryptosporidial infection, very scarce literature is available about periparturient pattern of oocyst excretion in goats and its implications in the epidemiology of disease in kids; thus the present investigation was done. Faecal samples (160) were examined from 20 pregnant goats, collected at weekly interval, commencing from 4 weeks before kidding up to 3 weeks after kidding. Faecal sample examination by Sheather’s floatation sedimentation technique followed by modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique revealed an overall positivity of 26.25% for Cryptosporidium oocysts. Prevalence of oocysts excretion was high around parturition and the number of oocysts shed oscillated between 20–400 oocysts/g (OPG) of faeces. Examination of 60 faecal samples of 20 kids born to studied goats from 1 to 3 weeks of age revealed 40% samples positive for Cryptosporidium oocysts and 65% kids became infected by the end of the 3 weeks. The OPG of kids ranged from 100 to 1,560. Molecular characterization by PCR-RFLP of 18S small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene showed that 73.80% and 26.19% goat samples, and 87.5% and 12.5% kids samples were positive for C. parvum and C. ubiquitum, respectively. The study indicated periparturient transmission of Cryptosporidium spp. from pregnant goats to their new born kids.

Prevalence and molecular epidemiology of Cryptosporidium parvum in dairy calves in Punjab (India)

Cryptosporidium parvum is an important zoonotic protozoan parasite that infects the gastrointestinal tract of vertebrate animals and man. The current study was contemplated for molecular detection of Cryptosporidium species prevalent in dairy calves in Punjab, India. A total of 302 faecal samples were screened by modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts. Molecular characterisation was done using PCR followed by sequence analysis of the representative isolates. An overall prevalence of 26.15 % was obtained with the highest prevalence obtained in 0-30 day old calves in both diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic animals. PCR analysis revealed the expected bands at 1,325 and 835 bp from all the isolates for primary and secondary/nested PCR respectively. Ten representative samples were sequenced in both directions. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of C. parvum in all the samples. The high rate of calves infected with C. parvum can act as a great source of zoonotic cryptosporidiosis which indicates a potential risk of zoonotic transmission from animal to human beings in Punjab (India).

Cryptosporidiosis in broiler chickens in Zhejiang Province, China: molecular characterization of oocysts detected in fecal samples

Cryptosporidium is one of the most important parasites in poultry, and this pathogen can infect more than 30 avian species. The present study investigated the infection rate of Cryptosporidium among broiler chicken flocks. A total of 385 fecal samples from broiler chickens in 7 regions of Zhejiang Province collected from November 2010 to January 2012 were examined by microscopy. Thirty-eight (10%) samples were positive for Cryptosporidium infection, and 3 genotypes (Cryptosporidium baileyi, Cryptosporidium meleagridis, and avian genotype II) were identified by PCR and sequencing. A phylogenetic tree of the isolates was analyzed. These results suggest that cryptosporidiosis is widespread in poultry in Zhejiang Province, and is a potential threat to public health as well as the economy. This is the first report about the infection rate and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium in broiler chickens in Zhejiang.

New Cryptosporidium parvum subtypes of IIa subfamily in dairy calves from Brazil

Bovine cryptosporidiosis is mainly caused by four distinct species: Cryptosporidium parvum, C. bovis, C. ryanae and C. andersoni. The first, C. parvum, is a major concern in livestock causing economic losses, in addition to public health impact because of its zoonotic characteristics. The present study aimed to determine the occurrence of different species and subtypes of Cryptosporidium using molecular techniques. A total of 143 fecal samples were collected from calves from three dairy farms located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Saturated sugar centrifugal flotation method was used for the microscopic evaluation of the samples. Among these samples, 19.6% (28) were positive by microscopy, and 82.1% (23) of these 28 samples had their diagnosis confirmed by PCR using 18S as gene target. After sequencing, three species of Cryptosporidium were found to infect calves in different age groups. In pre-weaning phase (<2 months), 10% (3/30) of the calves were infected with C. parvum, whereas 14.2% (16/113) of post-weaning calves (≥2 months) were observed to be infected with C. andersoni and 1.8% (2/113) by C. ryanae with the latter diagnosed for the first time in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Those samples identified as C. parvum were further characterized at the GP60 locus, and PCR products were cloned. Eight different subtypes (IIaA20G2R1, IIaA20G2R2, IIaA19G2R1, IIaA19G2R2, IIaA18G1R1, IIaA18G2R2, IIaA16G3R2 and IIaA14G2R2) of C. parvum were identified, all belonging to the IIa family subtype, which is considered of high zoonotic potential. The subtypes mentioned above have not yet been detected in Brazilian cattle, and four of these subtypes (IIaA20G2R2, IIaA19G2R2, IIaA18G2R2 and IIaA14G2R2) had not been diagnosed elsewhere in calves until this study.