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An Epidemiological Assessment of Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp. Infection in Pet Animals from Taiwan.

Chia-Hui HsuChi LiangShi-Chien ChiKuan-Ju LeeChung-Hsi ChouChen-Si LinWen-Yuan Yang
Published in: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI (2023)
Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis are enteric protozoan pathogens in humans. and animals. Companion animals infected with zoonotic species/assemblages are a matter of major public concern around the world. The objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalences of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis infections and their co-infection statuses in dogs and cats living in Taiwan and to identify the species and assemblages. Fecal samples were collected from local animal shelters ( n = 285) and a veterinary hospital ( n = 108). Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using the SSU-rRNA, β -giardin, and glutamate dehydrogenase genes for Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis , respectively. Results showed that the overall prevalences of Cryptosporidium and G. duodenalis were 7.38% (29/393) and 10.69% (42/393). In addition, co-infection was detected in 1.02% (4/393) of all samples. Sample source, clinical sign, and breed may be risk factors that influence the infection rate. In Cryptosporidium -positive samples, C. canis and C. felis were detected most frequently. Although the canine-specific assemblages C and D (37/42) were dominant, the zoonotic human-specific assemblage A (1/42) was also found in Giardia -positive samples. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most positive samples belonged to host-specific subtypes/assemblages, while some Cryptosporidium or Giardia -positive samples could be zoonotic. The findings suggested that pet animals could be a cause of zoonotic transmission, causing human cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis in Taiwan.
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