Abstract
IntroductionCryptosporidium is an important cause of diarrhea in children and immune-compromised individuals. Recent advances in molecular diagnostics have led to the discovery of subtype families that are thought to be more commonly associated with diarrhea. We aimed to isolate and characterize Cryptosporidium spp among children with diarrhea in Jos, Nigeria.MethodsStool samples were collected from165 children aged 0-5 years with diarrhea. Cryptosporidium oocysts were examined by wet mount preparation, using formalin ether and a modified acid fast staining method. DNA was extracted from positive samples using QIAamp DNA stool mini kit and PCR-RFLP assay was carried out after quantification. Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis were done to determine the subtype families and their relatedness.ResultsFrom the 165 children studied, 8 (4.8%) were infected with Cryptosporidium. PCR-RFLP assay and genotype characterization found the following Cryptosporidium species: C. hominis 6 (75%) and C. parvum 2 (25.0%), with family subtypes Id-5, Ie-1 and IIa-1, IId-1 respectively.The most common species was C. hominis and the frequent subtype was C. hominis-Id 5 (62.5%).ConclusionCryptosporidium is not an uncommon cause of diarrhea in children, with C. hominis being the dominant species. Also C. hominis Id is the commonest sub-family subtype. Put together, zoonotic species may be an important cause of diarrhea in children aged 0-5 years in Jos, Nigeria.
Highlights
Cryptosporidium is an important cause of diarrhea in children and immune-compromised individuals
About twenty Cryptosporidium species and 61 genotypes have been identified based on SSU-rRNA sequences, and five species commonly implicated in human cryptosporidiosis are: C. hominis, C. parvum, C. felis, C. canis and C. meleagridis [6, 7]
The 18S rRNA PCR-Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed for species identification of Cryptosporidium spp for all isolates
Summary
Cryptosporidium is an important cause of diarrhea in children and immune-compromised individuals. About twenty Cryptosporidium species and 61 genotypes have been identified based on SSU-rRNA sequences, and five species commonly implicated in human cryptosporidiosis are: C. hominis, C. parvum, C. felis, C. canis and C. meleagridis [6, 7]. Amongst these species, C. hominis and C. parvum are the most common agents responsible of human infections with few exceptions where the prevalence of C. meleagridis infection is high [7]. We aimed to isolate and genotype the identified Cryptosporidium spp in stool samples of children aged 0-5 years with diarrhea in Jos, Nigeria
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