Cryptosporidium spp. infection in mares and foals of the northwest region of São Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract

The present study aimed to analyze the occurrence of infection by Cryptosporidium spp. in mares and their respective foals. This study was carried out in 11 farms located in the municipalities of Araçatuba, Birigui, Guararapes and Santo Antônio do Aracangua, in the northwest region of the State of Sao Paulo, from November 2010 to March 2011. A total of 98 mares and 98 foals of several breeds were analyzed; among foals, 59 were males and 39 females, aged from three to 330 days. Feces were collected directly from the rectal ampulla, purified and processed according to modified Kinyoun stain. Occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. was 21.4% (21/98) for foals and 18.4% (18/98) for mares. Occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. had significant association with breeds and age of animals. Results obtained led to the conclusion that foals older than two months and Mangalarga animals are less susceptible to the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp.Keywords: Cryptosporidium, frequency, mares, foals. ResumoO presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar a ocorrência da infecção por Cryptosporidium spp. em éguas e seus respectivos potros. Este estudo foi realizado em 11 fazendas localizadas nos municípios de Araçatuba, Birigui, Guararapes e Santo Antônio do Aracangua, na região Noroeste do Estado de São Paulo, de novembro de 2010 a março de 2011. Um total de 98 éguas e 98 potros de diversas raças foram analisados, sendo que, entre os filhotes, 59 eram machos e 39 fêmeas, cujas idades variavam de três até 330 dias. Fezes foram colhidas diretamente da ampola retal, purificadas e processadas pela técnica de Kinyoun modificada. A ocorrência de Cryptosporidium spp. observada foi de 21,4% (21/98) para potros e 18,4% (18/98) para éguas. A ocorrência de Cryptosporidium spp. teve uma associação significativa com a raça e a idade dos animais. A partir dos resultados obtidos, conclui-se neste estudo que potros com idade superior a dois meses e animais da raça Mangalarga foram menos susceptíveis à ocorrência de Cryptosporidium spp.Palavra-chave: Cryptosporidium, frequência, éguas, potros.

Criptosporidiose em animais domésticos: aspectos epidemiológicos

“…Há poucos estudos relacionados à classificação molecular de Cryptosporidium em bubalinos, com relatos de identificação de C. parvum, Cryptosporidium "pig" genotype e C. ryanae (GOMÉZ-COUSO et al, 2005;CACCIÓ et al, 2007;FENG et al, 2012;VENU et al, 2012, AQUINO, 2012AMER et al, 2013).…”

Observational Study on Cryptosporidiosis in an Equine Perinatology Unit

“…Epidemiological studies about cryptosporidial infection in horses were conducted in Louisiana [17], United Kingdom [18], New Zealand [13], New York State [16], Trinidad [19], Sao Paulo State [20], Algeria [21], Kentucky [22], Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Greece [23], China [24] and Brazil [25]. In particular, studies conducted in different farms of Central Italy revealed a great variability of prevalence, from 0% to 31.25% [6,14,26].…”

“…Many papers reported the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in faeces of healthy adult horses and foals [12,16,20,21,23,27,28], but clinical signs and risk factors are still unclear [14,29].…”

Is cryptosporidiosis an underestimated disease in cats?

“…Only in 2004, cryptosporidiosis was included in the Neglected Diseases Initiative of the World Health Organization due to its close association with poor sanitation and low purchasing power (Savioli et al 2006). Since then, a considerable amount of research on this disease has been carried out for several production animals: sheep (Barker y Carbonell 1974), goats (Mason et al 1981), horses (Inácio et al 2012), buffaloes (Amer et al 2013). In pets, there are still few studies involving cats (Coelho et al 2009) but studies with dogs are worthy of note (Bresciani et al 2008).…”