Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum has been identified as a major cause of diarrhea and diarrhea-associated deaths in young children and neonatal calves. Infections can remain asymptomatic but may lead to malnutrition and persistent growth retardation. To assess the relationship between C. parvum genetic diversity and pathogenicity in neonatal dairy calves and determine the cause of diarrhea among these calves, 232 fecal samples from neonatal dairy calves on 12 farms in Xinjiang, China, were characterized for Cryptosporidium presence based on the small subunit rRNA gene. The Cryptosporidium prevalence was 38.4% (89/232), and three species were detected with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, including C. parvum (the significantly dominant species), C. ryanae, and C. bovis. Cryptosporidium prevalence was significantly higher in neonatal dairy calves with diarrhea (52.6%, 51/97) than in calves without diarrhea (28.1%, 38/135). All C. parvum-positive samples were analyzed based on the 60 KDa glycoprotein gene, and IIdA15G1, IIdA20G1, IIdA14G1, and IIdA19G1 were successfully subtyped. These data indicate that C. parvum may be a major contributor to diarrheal disease in neonatal dairy calves, and C. parvum subtypes from neonatal dairy calves in Xinjiang exhibited high genetic diversity.
Highlights
Cryptosporidium spp. are common causative pathogens of gastroenteritis in humans and animals and is second only to the rotavirus as the causative pathogens of moderate-to-severe diarrhea in children aged younger than 2 years in the developing world [1,2]
Several reports have indicated that C. bovis is the predominant species in preweaned dairy calves in China, including reports from Shanghai Municipality [12], Guangdong Province [15,21], Henan Province [16], Shaanxi Province [14], Hubei Province [17], and Sichuan Province (
All field studies complied with local legislative guidelines for animal care and use, and no neonatal dairy calves were injured during the fecal sample collection
Summary
Cryptosporidium spp. are common causative pathogens of gastroenteritis in humans and animals and is second only to the rotavirus as the causative pathogens of moderate-to-severe diarrhea in children aged younger than 2 years in the developing world [1,2]. Many studies have focused on cattle, with preweaned dairy calves being considered the most important reservoir for zoonotic infection [1,5]. Among common infections with C. parvum, C. bovis, C. andersoni, and C. ryanae in cattle, C. parvum has been associated with clinical disease in neonatal dairy calves, and C. parvum pathogenicity may be a consequence of host–microbe interactions from a long-term evolutionary perspective [6,7]. C. xiaoi, C. meleagridis, C. hominis, and C. tyzzeri have been identified in dairy cattle in China. The overall infection rate of Cryptosporidium spp. in dairy cattle in
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