Dataset Information

Molecular investigation of Cryptosporidium in farmed chickens in Hubei Province, China, identifies 'zoonotic' subtypes of C. meleagridis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Cryptosporidium is a key genus of parasitic protists that infect humans and other vertebrates (mammals and birds). Birds are typically infected with C. avium, C. baileyi, C. galli and/or C. meleagridis, the latter of which is recognised as being zoonotic. Stimulated by the previous finding of C. meleagridis subtypes IIIbA21G1R1, IIIbA22G1R1 and IIIbA26G1R1 in diarrhoeic children in Wuhan city and environs in Hubei Province, China, we performed a molecular epidemiological survey to explore whether these or similar subtypes might occur in farmed chickens in this province. METHODS:PCR-coupled sequencing analyses of regions in the small subunit (SSU) of the nuclear ribosomal RNA and 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) genes were utilised to characterise Cryptosporidium in faecal samples from chickens (n = 471) from 14 farms from six distinct regions in Hubei Province. RESULTS:Cryptosporidium baileyi (33/471; 7.0%) and C. meleagridis (15/471; 3.2%) were identified in chickens on eight farms in five of the six distinct geographical regions. No significant age-associated difference in the prevalence of C. baileyi was evident, whereas the prevalence of C. meleagridis was significantly higher in younger (? 4 months) than in older chickens (> 4 months). For C. meleagridis, two subtype families, IIIb and IIIe, were defined; some of the subtypes (i.e. IIIbA26G1R1b and IIIbA22G1R1c) characterised here matched those identified previously in diarrhoeic children in Wuhan. CONCLUSIONS:This is the first molecular study reporting the genetic identity and prevalence of C. baileyi and C. meleagridis in chickens in Hubei. The findings suggest that C. meleagridis subtypes IIIbA26G1R1b and IIIbA22G1R1c are cross-transmissible between chickens and humans, raising awareness about the significance of birds as potential reservoirs of zoonotic variants of Cryptosporidium. Future studies might focus on investigating the prevalence of 'zoonotic' subtypes of Cryptosporidium meleagridis in various species of wild and domesticated birds, and on comparing them with those found in humans in China and other countries.

SUBMITTER: Liao C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6114272 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Molecular investigation of Cryptosporidium in farmed chickens in Hubei Province, China, identifies 'zoonotic' subtypes of C. meleagridis.

Liao Cong C Wang Tao T Koehler Anson V AV Fan Yingying Y Hu Min M Gasser Robin B RB

Parasites & vectors 20180829 1

<h4>Background</h4>Cryptosporidium is a key genus of parasitic protists that infect humans and other vertebrates (mammals and birds). Birds are typically infected with C. avium, C. baileyi, C. galli and/or C. meleagridis, the latter of which is recognised as being zoonotic. Stimulated by the previous finding of C. meleagridis subtypes IIIbA21G1R1, IIIbA22G1R1 and IIIbA26G1R1 in diarrhoeic children in Wuhan city and environs in Hubei Province, China, we performed a molecular epidemiological surve ...[more]

PMID: 30157928

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Bamboo rats are widely farmed in southern China for meat, but their potential in transmitting pathogens to humans and other farm animals remains unclear. METHODS:To understand the transmission of Cryptosporidium spp. in these animals, 709 fecal samples were collected in this study from Chinese bamboo rats (Rhizomys sinensis) on nine farms in Jiangxi, Guangxi and Hainan provinces, China. They were analyzed for Cryptosporidium spp. using PCR and sequence analyses of the small subunit rRNA gene. Cryptosporidium parvum, C. parvum-like and C. ubiquitum-like genotypes identified were subtyped by sequence analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene. RESULTS:Altogether, Cryptosporidium spp. were detected in 209 (29.5%) samples. The detection rate in samples from animals under two months of age (70.0%,105/150) was significantly higher than in samples from animals above 2 months (18.6%, 104/559; ?2?=?150.27, df?=?1, P?<?0.0001). Four Cryptosporidium species/genotypes were identified: C. parvum (n?=?78); C. occultus (n?=?1); a new genotype that is genetically related to C. ubiquitum (n?=?85); and another new genotype that is genetically related to C. parvum (n?=?44). Among them, C. parvum (27,610?±?71,911 oocysts/gram of feces) and the C. parvum-like genotype (38,679?±?82,811 oocysts/gram of feces) had higher oocyst shedding intensity than the C. ubiquitum-like genotype (2470?±?7017 oocysts/gram of feces) and the C. occultus (1012 oocysts/gram of feces). The C. parvum identified belonged to three subtypes in two rare subtype families, including IIpA9 (n?=?43), IIpA6 (n?=?6) and IIoA15G1 (n?=?9), while the C. parvum-like and C. ubiquitum-like genotypes generated very divergent gp60 sequences. CONCLUSIONS:Results of the present study suggest that bamboo rats on the study farms were infected with diverse Cryptosporidium species and divergent C. parvum subtypes, which probably had originated from their native habitats. As similar C. parvum subtypes have been recently detected in humans and farmed macaques, attentions should be paid to the potential role of these new farm animals in the transmission of zoonotic pathogens.

Dataset Information

Molecular investigation of Cryptosporidium in farmed chickens in Hubei Province, China, identifies 'zoonotic' subtypes of C. meleagridis.

Publications

Molecular investigation of Cryptosporidium in farmed chickens in Hubei Province, China, identifies 'zoonotic' subtypes of C. meleagridis.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets