Abstract
Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic disease causing digestive problems in pre-weaned calves. Considering the zoonosis of the parasite and its importance in veterinary medicine, we evaluated the prevalence and genotyping of Cryptosporidium spp. in diarrheic pre-weaned calves in the northwest of Iran. A total of 100 stool samples of the infant calves with diarrhea were collected from industrial and conventional livestock farms in Urmia City. All the samples were tested with acid-fast staining, ELISA, and PCR. Positive samples of the PCR method were sequenced to determine the Cryptosporidium species. The obtained results were compared for the mentioned methods based on statistical factors, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, as well as duration of the experiment and the costs of testing. The results of this study showed that the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in diarrheic infant calves in Urmia city was 5%, and C. parvum species of Cryptosporidium was detected in all the sequenced samples. According to the findings of the current study, the most appropriate method for the detection of the parasite is the ELISA that has a higher sensitivity and predictive value than acid-fast staining method and should be used in veterinary laboratories. In the current investigation, C. parvum was identified as the only infectious agent in the region and could be the main cause of human infection. More studies are needed to find the source of infection for establishing the control measures.
Highlights
Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic disease causing digestive problems in pre-weaned calves
Cryptosporidium infection in cattle have been associated with four main species, i.e. C. parvum, C. bovis, C. andersoni, and C. ryanae; species such as C. suis, C. hominis, C. serpentis, C. xiaoi, C. ubiquitum, C. meleagridis, C. muris, and C. felis have been identified
C. andersoni gives rise to mucosal destruction of the abomasums in cattle, but C. parvum, C. bovis, and C. ryanae often cause atrophy of villus, shortening of microvillus, and destruction of the intestine, which leads to diarrhea [2,3,4]
Summary
Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic disease causing digestive problems in pre-weaned calves. C. andersoni have been reported to primarily infect adult calves [9] Other species such as C. felis [10], C. scrofarum [11], C. suislike genotype [12], C. suis [12], C. hominis [12,13], C. ubiquitum [14], and C. meleagridis [15] have been isolated from cattle; pre-weaned cattle are the most leading factor of infection for humans. Contamination with this protozoan in calves is highly important in terms of economic damages; in Iran, calf casualties are virtually 16%, of which 75% is related to diarrhea [16,17]
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