Genetic Characterization of Cryptosporidium cuniculus from Rabbits in Egypt.

Doaa Naguib,Lihua Xiao,Nagah Arafat,Dawn M Roellig

doi:10.3390/pathogens10060775

Abstract

Rabbits are increasingly farmed in Egypt for meat. They are, however, known reservoirs of infectious pathogens. Currently, no information is available on the genetic characteristics of Cryptosporidium spp. in rabbits in Egypt. To understand the prevalence and genetic identity of Cryptosporidium spp. in these animals, 235 fecal samples were collected from rabbits of different ages on nine farms in El-Dakahlia, El-Gharbia, and Damietta Provinces, Egypt during the period from July 2015 to April 2016. PCR-RFLP analysis of the small subunit rRNA gene was used to detect and genotype Cryptosporidium spp. The overall detection rate was 11.9% (28/235). All 28 samples were identified as Cryptosporidium cuniculus. The 16 samples successfully subtyped by the sequence analysis of the partial 60 kDa glycoprotein gene belonged to two subtypes, VbA19 (n = 1) and VbA33 (n = 15). As C. cuniculus is increasingly recognized as a cause of human cryptosporidiosis, Cryptosporidium spp. in rabbits from Egypt have zoonotic potential.

Highlights

Cryptosporidiosis is a common cause of diarrhea in humans and animals [1,2]
Most human cryptosporidiosis cases are caused by C. parvum and C. hominis
Cryptosporidium spp. were detected by PCR analysis of the SSU rRNA gene in 28 (11.9%) of the 235 fecal samples analyzed in the study

Summary

Introduction

Cryptosporidiosis is a common cause of diarrhea in humans and animals [1,2]. It is one of the most important diseases in both developing countries and industrialized nations due to its importance in diarrhea-associated death in young children and foodborne and waterborne outbreaks of illness [1,3,4,5,6]. The etiologic agents of cryptosporidiosis, Cryptosporidium spp., have over 40 established species and many genotypes of unknown species status [7]. Approximately 20 species and genotypes have been found in humans [8]. Most human cryptosporidiosis cases are caused by C. parvum and C. hominis. Other humanpathogenic Cryptosporidium spp. include C. meleagridis, C. ubiquitum, C. cuniculus, C. felis, C. canis, C. viatorum, and C. muris [7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion