Molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium and Giardia isolates from cattle from Portugal
Introduction
Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. are the most common protozoan parasites that infect domestic animals and humans (Fayer, 2004, Thompson, 2004, Thompson and Monis, 2004, Appelbee et al., 2005).
Cryptosporidiosis causes significant neonatal morbidity in cattle, causing weight loss and delayed growth, which leads to large economic losses (McDonald, 2000). In immunocompetent humans the disease is usually self-limiting, however, in immunocompromised patients is frequently a chronic, severe, and sometimes fatal infection (Fayer, 2004). Cryptosporidiosis is a common secondary infection in patients with Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) that results in twice as many fatalities as any other AIDS associated infections (Colford et al., 1996). Cryptosporidium is both a waterborne and a foodborne pathogen that can survive for months outside its host. Two species of Cryptosporidium have been identified in cattle: C. parvum in the intestine and C. andersoni in the abomasum. C. parvum infects cattle and other mammals including humans (Thompson, 2003).
Giardia is an ubiquitous enteric parasite that affects domestic animals and humans (Thompson et al., 2000). Giardia duodenalis has been implicated as an etiological agent in dairy and beef calf diarrhea, worldwide (O’Handley et al., 1999, Huetink et al., 2001, Olson et al., 2004). Three genotypes of G. duodenalis cause infection in cattle: the zoonotic genotype, assemblages A and B and the livestock genotype, assemblage E (Olson et al., 2004, Trout et al., 2006).
Molecular characterization of Giardia and Cryptosporidium has given rise to a clearer epidemiological picture, with better information on the zoonotic potential and transmission mechanisms for humans; nevertheless the frequency of zoonotic transmission is still poorly understood (Thompson, 2004, Cacciò et al., 2005). Additional molecular epidemiological studies are needed to determine the frequency and the importance of the zoonotic transmission.
In the present study, were isolate Cryptosporidium and Giardia from cattle feces in order to perform molecular studies with the objective of contribute for clarifying the epidemiology of those infections.
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Sampling
All animals used in this study were from commercial farms in the two main cattle raising regions of central and northern Portugal “Beira Litoral” and “Entre Douro e Minho”, comprising a population of approximately 490,000 dairy and beef cattle. Those regions are densely populated and have three main rivers: “Cávado”, “Ave” and “Vouga” running through. Fecal samples were collected from 66 dairy farms ranging from 5 to 310 animals and from 30 beef farms ranging from 2 to 45 animals. Of the 467
Results
Seventy-four out of 291 calves (25.4%) and 8 out 176 adults (4.5%) were positive for Cryptosporidium. Forty-one out 291 calves samples (14.1%) and 1 out 176 adult samples (0.57%) were positive for Giardia. Additionally, in the calves sampled, 12 out of 291 (4.1%) were positive for both Cryptosporidium and Giardia, however, no co-infections were detected in the adults.
From the 82 Cryptosporidium positive samples we obtained 63 isolates from calves and 7 isolates from adults. Additionally, from
Discussion
Human cryptosporidiosis is mainly caused by C. hominis and C. parvum (Kosek et al., 2001). The results in the present study showed that the C. parvum was more prevalent in cattle from Portugal, which is in agreement with previous reports from Portugal (Alves et al., 2003, Alves et al., 2006). The zoonotic implications of those finding should be take into account for better understand the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in the country.
Molecular characterization of the Cryptosporidium isolates
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the revision of this manuscript by Dr. Stephen Kane and by Professor Bruce Eilts. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, project number 61018, financially supported this work.
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