Prevalence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in 1–2-month-old highland yaks in Qinghai Province, China

Abstract

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are ubiquitous parasites that infect humans and animals. Few reports are available on the prevalence of these two protozoan parasites in yaks (Bos grunniens). In this study, 344 faecal samples were collected from yaks with diarrhoea in the Chenduo and Nangqian counties of Qinghai Province, China. Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis were detected by light and immunofluorescence microscopy and nested PCR (nPCR). Fifteen samples were positive (4.5%) by Kinyoun staining, 40 (11.6%) samples were positive by immunofluorescence test (IFT), and 39 (11.3%) samples were positive by nPCR for Cryptosporidium spp., Cryptosporidium bovis (11/39, 28.2%) was the most prevalent species, followed by C. ryanae (6/39, 15.4%), C. andersoni (5/39, 12.8%), C. struthionis (5/39, 12.8%), C. parvum (5/39, 12.8%), C. hominis (4/39, 10.3%) and C. canis (3/39, 7.7%). Thirteen out of 344 (3.8%) samples were positive for Giardia by simple microscopy, 20 (5.8%) by IFT and 18 samples (5.2%) yak faecal samples were Giardia positive by nPCR. Two G. duodenalis assemblages (B, E) were detected in this study. Nine positive samples for G. duodenalis assemblage E were from the towns of Xiewu (8/9, 4.9%) and Xiangda (1/9, 1.3%), and nine positive samples (9/9, 8.5%) for G. duodenalis assemblage B were from the town of Zhenqin. This report provides information about infection with Cryptosporidium species and G. duodenalis assemblages in domesticated 1-2-month-old highland yaks living in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region of China.

Molecular characterization and distribution of Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi from yaks in Tibet, China

“…C. andersoni and C. bovis were identified in our study, which were identical to the species reported previously in Gansu [20]. C. andersoni was the dominant species in the present study, in agreement with one case in Qinghai reported by Li [22], whereas C. parvum was the most common species in the central-western region of China reported by Qi [19], and C. bovis was the dominant species in one study in Gansu reported by Qin and three reports in Qinghai [10, 20, 21, 23].…”

“…In the present study, the overall infection rate of Cryptosporidium was 1.4% (8/577), which is higher than that in one report of yaks in Sichuan (1.2%, 1/84) [19]. However, molecular epidemiological data have shown the prevalence here was lower than two reports in Gansu (5.3%, 4/76 and 6.0%, 7/117), Tibet (9.1%, 4/44) and Qinghai (ranging from 3.3 to 30.0% in five studies) [10, 19–23]. Additionally, compared with dairy cattle, the distribution of Cryptosporidium species according to the yak age remains unknown [9].…”

“…ryanae cattle type, and C . ryanae buffalo type [8–10]. Currently, in terms of genetic variation, molecular biological analyses have shown that G .…”

Molecular Epizootiology of Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium parvum in the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) from Maine (USA)

“…In the case of T. gondii , there are more than 50 genetic markers for genotyping [52,53]. Our survey relied on qPCR detection of DNA extracted from oyster tissues, and the results could well be an indication that T. gondii oocysts are also passing through the bivalve [54,55]. Establishing the risk of Toxoplasma infection from eating raw bivalves [48] would require the development and validation of methods for the detection and survival/infectivity assays to enable robust risk assessments and implementation of control measures [2].…”

Cryptosporidiosis and Giardiasis in Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

“…Especially in developing countries, these parasites cause diarrhea in malnourished children under 5 years of age ( 117 ). Cryptosporidiosis in immunocompetent individuals is considered self-limiting, but with the appearance of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV), opportunistic infections have been associated with more serious and even fatal clinical manifestations in immunosuppressed individuals ( 35 , 118 , 119 ).…”