Abstract
Bamboo rats (Rhizomys sinensis) are widely farmed in Guangdong, China, but the distribution and public health potential of Cryptosporidium spp. in them are unclear. In this study, 724 fecal specimens were collected from bamboo rats in Guangdong Province and analyzed for Cryptosporidium spp. using PCR and sequence analyses of the small subunit rRNA gene. The overall detection rate of Cryptosporidium spp. was 12.2% (88/724). By age, the detection rate in animals under 2 months (23.2% or 13/56) was significantly higher than in animals over 2 months (11.2% or 75/668; χ2 = 6.95, df = 1, p = 0.0084). By reproduction status, the detection rate of Cryptosporidium spp. in nursing animals (23.1% or 27/117) was significantly higher than in other reproduction statuses (6.8% or 4/59; χ2 = 7.18, df = 1, p = 0.0074). Five Cryptosporidium species and genotypes were detected, including Cryptosporidium bamboo rat genotype I (n = 49), C. parvum (n = 31), Cryptosporidium bamboo rat genotype III (n = 5), C. occultus (n = 2), and C. muris (n = 1). The average numbers of oocysts per gram of feces for these Cryptosporidium spp. were 14,074, 494,636, 9239, 394, and 323, respectively. The genetic uniqueness of bamboo rat genotypes I and III was confirmed by sequence analyses of the 70 kDa heat shock protein and actin genes. Subtyping C. parvum by sequence analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein gene identified the presence of IIoA15G1 (n = 20) and IIpA6 (n = 2) subtypes. The results of this study indicated that Cryptosporidium spp. are common in bamboo rats in Guangdong, and some of the Cryptosporidium spp. in these animals are known human pathogens.
Highlights
Cryptosporidium spp. are major pathogens that mainly parasitize the gastrointestinal epithelium, causing moderate-to-severe diarrhea in humans and animals [1,2]
The results of this study indicated that Cryptosporidium spp. are common in bamboo rats in Guangdong, and some of the Cryptosporidium spp. in these animals are known human pathogens
We examined the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. and C. parvum subtypes in bamboo rats in Guangdong Province
Summary
Cryptosporidium spp. are major pathogens that mainly parasitize the gastrointestinal epithelium, causing moderate-to-severe diarrhea in humans and animals [1,2]. They are responsible for significant mortality in both young children [1,3] and neonatal farm animals [4,5,6,7,8]. Cryptosporidium spp. are especially common in rodents [13]. Other Cryptosporidium spp. from rodents have more limited host ranges, such as C. meleagridis and Cryptosporidium deer mouse genotypes I, II, III, and IV in deer mice [16,17,18,19]; Cryptosporidium chipmunk genotypes I and II in chipmunks [16]; and Cryptosporidium ferret genotype, C. rubeyi and several squirrel genotypes in squirrels [20,21,22,23]
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