Occurrence rate and species and subtypes of Cryptosporidium spp. in pet dogs in Yunnan Province, China

• Published in: BMC microbiology Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 354 - 10
• Main Authors: Jian, Jinhua, Liu, Aiqin, Yang, Yaming, Peng, Xiaoxue, Yao, Lan, Li, Benfu, Zi, Jinrong, Cao, Jianping, Shen, Yujuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19.09.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Animals; China - epidemiology; Cryptosporidiosis - epidemiology; Cryptosporidiosis - parasitology; Cryptosporidium; Cryptosporidium - classification; Cryptosporidium - genetics; Cryptosporidium - isolation & purification; Disease transmission; DNA, Protozoan - genetics; DNA, Ribosomal - genetics; DNA-directed RNA polymerase; Dog Diseases - epidemiology; Dog Diseases - parasitology; Dogs; Feces - parasitology; Genetic aspects; Genotype; Genotype & phenotype; Genotypes; Genotyping; Glycoproteins; Health aspects; Host range; Identification and classification; Infections; Living conditions; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleotide sequence; Pets; Pets - parasitology; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Protozoa; Public health; Ribosomal RNA; Risk factors; rRNA; Rural areas; Sequence analysis; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Species; Statistics; Subtyping; Veterinary medicine; Zoonoses; Zoonotic transmission; China; Nigeria; Yunnan China; Cryptosporidium; Genotyping; Subtyping; Zoonotic transmission; Dogs
• ISSN: 1471-2180; 1471-2180
• DOI: 10.1186/s12866-024-03500-4

Cryptosporidium spp. is a ubiquitous, globally distributed intestinal protozoan infecting humans and at least 260 animal hosts. Due to close human contact with pet dogs and identification of zoonotic Cryptosporidium species and subtypes in these animals, dog health is not only a veterinarian issue but also a public health issue. This study aimed to understand occurrence and genetic characterization at both genotype and subtype levels in pet dogs in Yunnan Province, China. A total of 589 fresh fecal specimens were collected from adult pet dogs in the rural areas of eight cities/autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province, China. 16 fecal specimens were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequence analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene, with an average occurrence rate of 2.7% (16/589) being observed. Three zoonotic Cryptosporidium species were identified: C. parvum (n = 7), C. suis (n = 5) and C. canis (n = 4). At the 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) locus, only three C. parvum and two C. canis specimens were successfully amplified and sequenced, with subtype IIaA17G2R1 (n = 3) and subtypes XXa4 (n = 1) and XXa5 (n = 1) being identified, respectively. The present finding of three zoonotic Cryptosporidium species in dogs implied that dogs infected with Cryptosporidium spp. may pose a threat to human health. C. suis was identified in dogs in this study for the first time, expanding the host range of this species. Identification of C. parvum subtype IIaA17G2R1 and C. canis subtypes XXa4 and XXa5 will be helpful to explore the source attribution of infection/contamination and assess the transmission dynamics of C. parvum and C. canis in the investigated areas in the future.