Large-scale survey ofCryptosporidiumspp. in chickens and Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) in Henan, China: prevalence and molecular characterization

Abstract

Few data are available on the molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in chickens and ducks in China. In this study, 2579 faecal samples from 46 chicken farms and eight Pekin duck farms in 21 prefectures in Henan Province were examined. The overall infection rate of Cryptosporidium was 10.6% (163/1542) in layer chickens (10 out of 17 farms), 3.4% (16/473) in broilers (five out of 29 farms), and 16.3% (92/564) in Pekin ducks (four out of eight farms), respectively. The highest infection rates were observed in 31-day-old to 60-day-old layer chickens (24.6%) and 11-day-old to 30-day-old Pekin ducks (40.3%). The season of highest prevalence in chickens was spring (15.6%) and the lowest was winter (P B0.01). One hundred and eightyseven Cryptosporidium-positive samples were analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)Árestriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the small subunit rRNA gene, and 55 were further analysed by DNA sequencing of the PCR products. Two Cryptosporidium species were identified: Cryptosporidium baileyi (184/187) on 15 chicken farms and four duck farms, and Cryptosporidium meleagridis (3/187) on three layer chicken farms. C. baileyi was the predominant Cryptosporidium species, found in all age groups of chickens and all Cryptosporidium-positive ducks examined, whereas C. meleagridis was only identified in 31-day-old to 120-day-old layer chickens. Considering the large size of the chicken industry and the close contact between chickens and humans, and that C. meleagridis is the third most common Cryptosporidium parasite in humans, then C. meleagridis could potentially become an emerging zoonosis in some areas in China.

Cryptosporidiosis in broiler chickens in Zhejiang Province, China: molecular characterization of oocysts detected in fecal samples

“…Thus far, there are few data available about the infection rate of Cryptosporidium in poultry, especially in chickens in China. It was reported that the infection rate of Cryptosporidium was 3.4% in Henan and 23.8% in Shandong, China [26, 27]. Moreover, the rate was 3.75% in the Garmsar region, Iran, and 4.5% in Tunisia [21, 24].…”

“…In more recent studies, the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. has been reported in detail in quails, chickens, Pekin ducks, pet birds, and ostriches in Henan, and most species have been identified as C. baileyi and C. meleagridis [18, 27–29]. The epidemiological investigation of Cryptosporidium in poultry in Zhejiang Province was carried out in our research.…”

Cryptosporidium andersoni as a novel predominant Cryptosporidium species in outpatients with diarrhea in Jiangsu Province, China

“…DNA from C. baileyi obtained from a chicken [23], provided by Prof. Longxian Zhang of Henan Agricultural University, was used as a positive control, and deionized water was used as a negative control. All nested PCR products were visualized by electrophoresis in 2% agarose gel stained with ethidium bromide before sequencing.…”

Cryptosporidium infections in birds - a review

“…In Algeria, a report showed a high prevalence of C. meleagridis: 34% (26/90) in chickens and 44% (25/57) in turkeys (BAROUDI et al, 2013). However, in China, a low prevalence was described for C. meleagridis among broiler chickens (0.52%; 2/385) (WANG et al, 2014b), laying hens (0.19%; 3/1542) (WANG et al, 2010) and quails (0.22%; 4/1818) . Li et al (2012) found C. meleagridis in 24.4% (22/90) of the wastewater samples collected from four cities in China.…”