The Occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in Wild-Living Carnivores in Poland—A Question Concerning Its Host Specificity

Abstract

Cryptosporidium is an apicomplexan protozoan parasite that primarily infects the gastrointestinal epithelium in humans and domestic and wild animals. The majority of studies have been focused on human, livestock, and pet infections. Hence, Cryptosporidium spp. in wildlife, including wild carnivores, remained neglected. There are several studies reporting the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in wild foxes, but these are only a few molecular surveys; no data is available concerning the occurrence of this parasite in raccoon dogs and martens in Europe, and to the best of our knowledge to date, only one study has reported Cryptosporidium from badgers in Spain. Therefore, we used molecular analyses to identify and genotype Cryptosporidium spp. in wild-living mesocarnivores in Poland. A total of 322 individual fecal samples from six carnivore species, i.e., raccoon, raccoon dog, red fox, European badger, pine, and beech martens were collected and then analyzed for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. using the nested PCR method. The appearance of PCR products in the reaction with Cryptosporidium-specific primers against the 18S rRNA and actin genes demonstrated that Cryptosporidium spp. occurred in 23.0% of all examined species of animals. Performed sequence analyses showed the presence of the Cryptosporidium skunk genotype, Cryptosporidium vole genotype II, Cryptosporidium canis dog and fox genotypes, as well as Cryptosporidium erinacei, Cryptosporidium ditrichi, Cryptosporidium suis, and Cryptosporidium alticolis, in these hosts. Molecular data presented here indicate that examined mesocarnivores may be a significant reservoir of specific and non-specific Cryptosporidium species, including those with zoonotic potential. Most studies of carnivores have described the presence of non-specific Cryptosporidium spp. in carnivore hosts, and this is probably the result of the transfer of these parasites from prey species through the digestive tract or the transfer of the parasite from a contaminated environment.

Molecular Detection and Distribution of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. Infections in Wild and Domestic Animals in Portugal

“…(8.4%) was found, previously associated with their omnivorous diet and broader habitat selection requirements [209]. Canine-adapted C. canis was detected in the Iberian wolf, as previously described in wolves from Slovakia [36] and in red fox, as reported in Spain [30,34] and Poland [39]. As for the identification of C. ryanae and C. occultus in red deer, these results agree with a report from Spain [41].…”

“…Even though we could not detect Cryptosporidium spp. in any of the analyzed stone martens, this protozoan was documented in this host species in Poland (29.4%) [39]. For wild ungulates, a similar prevalence to the one we reported for red deer was found in neighboring Spain (2.7%) [41].…”

Detection and Molecular Diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in the Endangered Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus), Spain

“…Rodent-adapted Cryptosporidium alticolis and C. occultus were initially described in common voles and rats [68,69], whereas leporids, including rabbits and hares, are the preferred host species for C. cuniculus [70]. Interestingly, C. alticolis has been previously reported in two red foxes in Poland [17]. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. cuniculus and C. occultus in free-living carnivores (including the Iberian lynx) globally.…”

“…In Europe, at least 11 Cryptosporidium species (C. alticolis, C. andersoni, C. bovis, C. canis, C. ditrichi, C. erinacei, C. felis, C. hominis, C. parvum, C. suis, and C. ubiquitum) and four genotypes (mink genotype, muskrat genotype, skunk genotype, and vole genotype) have been identified in 18 free-living carnivore species belonging to 12 genera and six families in the last 20 years (Table 1). The skunk genotype (24.2%, 32/132), C. canis (18.9%, 25/132), and C. ditrichi (16.7%, 22/132) were the most prevalent Cryptosporidium genetic variants found, whereas the red fox (n = 770) and the raccoon (n = 165) were the most investigated carnivore host species (Table 1) [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. There are nine validated Giardia species in various vertebrates, namely G. agilis in amphibians; G. ardeae and G. psittaci in birds; G. cricetidarum, G. microti, G. muris, and G. paramelis in rodents; G varani in reptiles; and G. duodenalis in mammals including humans [13].…”

Rodent-adapted Cryptosporidium infection in humans: Seven new cases and review of the literature

“…Table 1 ), and it was by far the most common species detected in murids and cricetids sampled in the wild in Denmark in a recent survey [ 42 ]. C. ditrichi was also found in a beech marten sampled in Poland [ 43 ].…”