Prevalence and molecular typing of Cryptosporidium in dairy cattle in England and Wales and examination of potential on-farm transmission routes

Abstract

An average of 70 samples were collected from 80 dairy farms in England and Wales, from cattle, co-grazed sheep, wildlife and farm wastes, to investigate prevalence, potential sources and transmission routes of Cryptosporidium. At least one positive sample was detected on 74 of the farms (92.5%) by IFAT microscopy. The prevalence in cattle was 10.2% (95% CI 9.4-11.1%), with greater prevalences detected in calf samples, especially from those under 1 month (45.1%). Young calves were also more likely to be shedding Cryptosporidium parvum and larger concentrations of oocysts, whereas older calves and adult cattle were more likely to be shedding Cryptosporidium bovis and Cryptosporidium andersoni, respectively. The C. parvum subtypes detected were predominantly from types commonly identified in UK cattle (67% were either IIaA15G2R1 or IIaA17G1R1). A novel subtype, IIaA17G1R2, was identified from one cattle sample. The prevalence in co-grazed sheep was low (4%). Birds and rodents may represent significant reservoirs of Cryptosporidium due to high prevalence, large oocyst concentrations, and the detection of a C. parvum subtype known to be present in human populations, identified in samples from these wildlife. Cryptosporidium were detected in dirty water and manure, and also from pasture samples where slurry had been spread. On 64% of the farms, identical Cryptosporidium species were detected (mainly C. parvum or C. bovis) from different cattle groups on the farms, although no direct or indirect contact between the groups were recorded, apart from sharing staff. The same Cryptosporidium species were found in cattle, farm wastes and bird samples on the same farms, but rarely, or not at all, present in sheep or rodent samples. The matching of species/subtypes was also related to the proximity of the different sample sources which may indicate a potential transmission route.

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Cryptosporidium and Giardia species in Cattle within Mandalay Region, Myanmar

“…Although Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections have been reported for cattle in many parts of the world, prevalence data have often varied markedly. The present detection rate of Cryptosporidium infection based on microscopic examination is much higher compared to the obtained prevalence in former studies in Thailand, Argentina, Ethiopia, England, India and Wales with the prevalence of 0.6, 19.35, 7.8, 12.50 and 10.2 per cent, respectively (Jittapalapong et al, 2006;Tiranti et al, 2011;Wegayehu et al, 2013;Singla et al, 2013;Smith et al, 2014). Similar results with this study, high prevalence rates were also reported in Canada, Germany, Nigeria, Tanzania and Brazil with the prevalence rates of 32, 41.3, 33.0, 35 and 45 per cent, respectively (Budu-Amoako et al, 2012;Gillhuber et al, 2014;Faleke et al, 2014;Swai and Schoonman, 2010;Almeida et al, 2010).…”

Prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum in dairy calves and GP60 subtyping of diarrheic calves in central Argentina

“…reported that cryptosporidiosis risk is higher in calves younger than 30 days old (Tiranti et al 2011;Smith et al 2014;Delafosse et al 2015;Avendaño et al 2018).…”

“…High herd prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. has been reported in dairies, with values ranging from 50.5 to 96% (Hamnes et al 2006;Brook et al 2008;Trotz-Williams et al 2008;Silverlås et al 2009;Tiranti et al 2011;Smith et al 2014;Delafosse et al 2015;Al Mawly et al 2015). It has been Section Editor: Lihua Xiao Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06366-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.…”

“…Accordingly, identification of Cryptosporidium intraspecific variation has been central in understanding transmission dynamics of zoonotic parasite strains. Molecular characterization of C. parvum at the subtype level in dairy calves, important to determine zoonotic potential, have been conducted in several countries (Santín et al 2008;Xiao and Fayer 2008;Amer et al 2010;Silverlås et al 2013;Smith et al 2014;Kaupke and Rzeżutka 2015). In Argentina, two previous studies have reported C. parvum as the only species present in 120 preweaned dairy calves and subtypes IIaA16G1R1 IIaA17G1R1, IIaA18G1R1, IIaA19G1R1, IIaA20G1R1, IIaA21G1R1, IIaA22G1R1, and IIaA23G1R1 have been identified (Tomazic et al 2013;Del Coco et al 2014).…”

Boma to banda - A disease sentinel concept for reduction of diarrhoea

“…As demonstrated, calf herds with diarrhoea were eight times more likely to be shedding Cryptosporidium and should be considered a human health risk, especially considering Cryptosporidium's low infective dose to people (as few as 30 oocysts or cysts, far less than what a naturally infected calf would excrete into the environment), the relatively high estimated faecal loading potential of a shedding calf and the high survival and resilience of Cryptosporidium oocysts in the environment (DuPont et al 1995;Zambrisky et al 2013;Ryan et al 2014). Further, younger calves have been described as more likely to be infected with and shedding the zoonotic species of Cryptosporidium, C. parvum, (Smith et al 2014). Because younger calves in our study were more likely to have diarrhoea, they may also be more likely to shed zoonotic parasites of public health concern compared to host-specific genotypes like C. andersonii that are more often shed by older animals.…”