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Prevalence, genetic characteristics, and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium species causing infections in farm rabbits in China.

ABSTRACT: To assess the prevalence and public health significance of rabbit cryptosporidiosis, a total of 1,081 fecal specimens were collected between October 2007 and April 2008 from rabbits on eight farms in five different areas in Henan Province, China, and were examined by microscopy after Sheather's sucrose flotation and modified acid-fast staining. The average infection rate of Cryptosporidium was 3.4% (37/1,081 samples). There was a significant association between the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and the age of animals (chi(2) = 57.13; P < 0.01); the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in 1- to 3-month-old rabbits was the highest (10.9%). The Cryptosporidium species in microscopy-positive specimens were genotyped by sequence analyses of the 18S rRNA, 70-kDa heat shock protein (HSP70), oocyst wall protein (COWP), and actin genes and were subtyped by sequence analysis of the 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene. Only the Cryptosporidium rabbit genotype was identified, with 100% sequence identity to published sequences of the 18S rRNA, HSP70, COWP, and actin genes, and the strains belonged to three gp60 subtypes (VbA36, VbA35, and VbA29). In view of the recent finding of the Cryptosporidium rabbit genotype in human outbreak and sporadic cases, the role of rabbits in the transmission of human cryptosporidiosis should be reassessed.

SUBMITTER: Shi K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2937672 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Prevalence, genetic characteristics, and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium species causing infections in farm rabbits in China.

Shi Ke K Jian Fuchuan F Lv Chaochao C Ning Changshen C Zhang Longxian L Ren Xupeng X Dearen Theresa K TK Li Na N Qi Meng M Xiao Lihua L

Journal of clinical microbiology 20100707 9

To assess the prevalence and public health significance of rabbit cryptosporidiosis, a total of 1,081 fecal specimens were collected between October 2007 and April 2008 from rabbits on eight farms in five different areas in Henan Province, China, and were examined by microscopy after Sheather's sucrose flotation and modified acid-fast staining. The average infection rate of Cryptosporidium was 3.4% (37/1,081 samples). There was a significant association between the prevalence of Cryptosporidium ...[more]

PMID: 20610678

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Project description:Cryptosporidium is one of the most common zoonotic waterborne parasitic diseases worldwide and represents a major public health concern of water utilities in developed nations. As animals in catchments can shed human-infectious Cryptosporidium oocysts, determining the potential role of animals in dissemination of zoonotic Cryptosporidium to drinking water sources is crucial. In the present study, a total of 952 animal faecal samples from four dominant species (kangaroos, rabbits, cattle and sheep) inhabiting Sydney's drinking water catchments were screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium using a quantitative PCR (qPCR) and positives sequenced at multiple loci. Cryptosporidium species were detected in 3.6% (21/576) of kangaroos, 7.0% (10/142) of cattle, 2.3% (3/128) of sheep and 13.2% (14/106) of rabbit samples screened. Sequence analysis of a region of the 18S rRNA locus identified C. macropodum and C. hominis in 4 and 17 isolates from kangaroos respectively, C. hominis and C. parvum in 6 and 4 isolates respectively each from cattle, C. ubiquitum in 3 isolates from sheep and C. cuniculus in 14 isolates from rabbits. All the Cryptosporidium species identified were zoonotic species with the exception of C. macropodum. Subtyping using the 5' half of gp60 identified C. hominis IbA10G2 (n = 12) and IdA15G1 (n = 2) in kangaroo faecal samples; C. hominis IbA10G2 (n = 4) and C. parvum IIaA18G3R1 (n = 4) in cattle faecal samples, C. ubiquitum subtype XIIa (n = 1) in sheep and C. cuniculus VbA23 (n = 9) in rabbits. Additional analysis of a subset of samples using primers targeting conserved regions of the MIC1 gene and the 3' end of gp60 suggests that the C. hominis detected in these animals represent substantial variants that failed to amplify as expected. The significance of this finding requires further investigation but might be reflective of the ability of this C. hominis variant to infect animals. The finding of zoonotic Cryptosporidium species in these animals may have important implications for the management of drinking water catchments to minimize risk to public health.

Dataset Information

Prevalence, genetic characteristics, and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium species causing infections in farm rabbits in China.

Publications

Prevalence, genetic characteristics, and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium species causing infections in farm rabbits in China.

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