Abstract
BackgroundCryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis and Enterocytozoon bieneusi are common enteric pathogens in humans and animals. Data on the transmission of these pathogens are scarce from Guangdong, China, which has a subtropical monsoon climate and is the epicenter for many emerging infectious diseases. This study was conducted to better understand the prevalence and identity of the three pathogens in pre-weaned dairy calves in Guangdong.MethodsThe occurrence and genetic identity of three pathogens were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. PCR-positive products were sequenced to determine the species and genotypes. A Chi-square test was used to compare the prevalence of pathogens among sampling dates, age groups, or clinical signs.ResultsThe detection rates of Cryptosporidium spp., G. duodenalis and E. bieneusi were 24.0% (93/388), 74.2% (288/388) and 15.7% (61/388), respectively. Three Cryptosporidium species were detected, including C. bovis (n = 73), C. parvum (n = 12) and C. ryanae (n = 7); one animal had concurrence of C. bovis and C. parvum. C. parvum was the dominant species during the first two weeks of life, whereas C. bovis and C. ryanae were mostly seen at 3–9 weeks of age. Sequence analysis identified the C. parvum as subtype IIdA19G1. Assemblage E (n = 282), assemblage A (n = 1), and concurrence of A and E (n = 5) were identified among G. duodenalis-positive animals using multilocus genotyping (MLG). Altogether, 15, 10 and 17 subtypes of assemblage E were observed at the bg, gdh and tpi loci, respectively, forming 49 assemblage E MLGs. The highest detection rate of G. duodenalis was found in winter. Sequence analysis identified genotypes J (n = 57), D (n = 3) and one concurrence of J and D among E. bieneusi-positive animals. The detection rate of E. bieneusi was significantly higher in spring (38.0%; 41/108) than in summer (7.2%; 8/111) and winter (7.1%; 12/169).ConclusionsThese results indicate a common occurrence of C. parvum subtype IIdA19G1, G. duodenalis assemblage E, and E. bieneusi genotype J in pre-weaned dairy calves in Guangdong. More studies are needed to understand the unique genetic characteristics and zoonotic potential of the three enteric pathogens in the province.
Highlights
Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis and Enterocytozoon bieneusi are common enteric pathogens in humans and animals
A wide range of Cryptospori dium species have been identified in cattle, but studies worldwide have shown a common occurrence of C. parvum, C. bovis, C. ryanae and C. andersoni [3]
There were no significant differences in detection rates among the three batches of sampling conducted during the seasons (Table 1)
Summary
Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis and Enterocytozoon bieneusi are common enteric pathogens in humans and animals. Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis and Enterocytozoon bieneusi are common zoonotic pathogens, causing diarrhea and other gastrointestinal illness in humans and animals and responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. In humans, they are transmitted by direct contact with infected persons (anthroponotic transmission) or animals (zoonotic transmission) or through consumption of contaminated food or water (food-borne or water-borne transmission) [1,2,3,4]. C. parvum is responsible for over 90% of the infections in pre-weaned dairy calves [3]; only a few studies in Sweden, Egypt and Malaysia [19,20,21] showed C. bovis being relatively more common
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