The first study of molecular prevalence and species characterization of Cryptosporidium in free-range chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) from Brazil

Abstract

Rearing free-range chicken is based on grazing feeding patterns, and these animals could be potential environmental contaminants of Cryptosporidium oocysts for humans and other animals. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the molecular prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in free-range chickens from Brazil. A total of 351 fecal samples from chickens were examined from 20 farms. For detection of Cryptosporidium spp., 18S rRNA gene fragments were amplified using a nested PCR reaction. Positive samples were sent for sequencing. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium was 25.6% (95% CI = 21.2% -30.6%). Sequencing of the amplified fragments allowed for the identification of three species: C. meleagridis in 57 (62.6%), C. baileyi in 15 (16.4%), C. parvum in 3 (3.2%) samples, and a new Cryptosporidium genotype (C. genotype BrPR1) in 3 (3.2%) samples. Cryptosporidium genotype BrPR1 has not yet been classified as a species, and its host spectrum is not known. Cryptosporidium, including zoonotic species, exists at a high prevalence in free-range chickens within the region studied.Keywords: Cryptosporidiosis, zoonosis, public health, epidemiology. ResumoA criação de galinhas no estilo colonial/caipira é baseada em padrões de alimentação de pastagem, o que as torna potenciais contaminantes ambientais de oocistos de Cryptosporidium para humanos e outros animais. Portanto, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a prevalência molecular de Cryptosporidium spp. em galinhas criadas em sistema colonial/caipira. Um total de 351 amostras de fezes de frangos foram examinadas em 20 fazendas. Para a detecção de Cryptosporidium spp., os fragmentos do gene rRNA 18S foram amplificados utilizando-se a reação de nested-PCR. A prevalência global de Cryposporidium foi de 25,6% (IC 95% = 21,2% -30,6%). O sequenciamento dos fragmentos amplificados permitiu a identificação de três espécies que infectam aves: C. meleagridis em 57 (62,6%), C. baileyi em 15 (16,4%), C. parvum em 3 (3,2%) amostras, bem como, um novo genótipo de Cryptosporidium (C. genótipo BrPR1) foi identificado em 3 (3,2%) amostras. Cryptosporidium genotipo BrPR1 não foi ainda classificado como uma espécie, e seu espectro de hospedeiros é desconhecido. O presente trabalho permitiu concluir que Cryptosporidium, incluindo espécies zoonóticas, existe com alta prevalência em galinhas criadas em sistema colonial/caipira na região estudada.Palavras-chave: Criptosporidose, zoonoses, saúde pública, epidemiologia.

Dominance of Zoonotic Pathogen Cryptosporidium Meleagridis in Broiler Chickens in Guangdong, China, Reveals Evidence of Cross-Transmission

“…To our knowledge, this is the rst report of the presence and prevalence of Cryptosporidium in intensively farmed chickens in Guangdong Province, although previous studies have reported in Hubei, Zhejiang, Henan and Anhui in China [4,9,18,19]. In our study, the overvall prevalence of Cryptosporidium in chickens (13.2%; 132/1001) was comparable to previous values reported for domestic chickens in Brazil (12.6%; 24/190) [20], China (10.2%) [9], Syria (9.9%) [21], higher than Iran (0.5%) [22], Tunisia (4.5%) [23], Jordan (4.8%) [24], and Germany (5.7%) [13], but lower than Brazil (25.6%) [25] and Algeria (34.4%) [5]. Differences in hygiene, management practices, sample origin and detection methods may contribute to these differences in prevalence of Cryptosporidium in poultry ocks.…”

The effect of water source and soil supplementation on parasite contamination in organic vegetable gardens

“…observed in the River Thames in the south of England. In this study, the type of fertilizers used on the positive properties were 50.0% (3/6) chicken litter, 16.7% (1/6) bovine manure and 33.3% (2/6) mixed manure (chicken and bovine), the type of fertilizer had no statistical association with positivity by Cryptosporidium spp., however the parasite was previously described in these animals (AL MAWLY et al, 2015;EWALD et al, 2017;HELMY et al, 2017).…”

Dominance of the zoonotic pathogen Cryptosporidium meleagridis in broiler chickens in Guangdong, China, reveals evidence of cross-transmission

“…To our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence and prevalence of Cryptosporidium in intensively farmed chickens in Guangdong Province, although previous studies have been reported in Hubei, Zhejiang, Henan and Anhui in China [ 3 , 5 , 8 , 25 ]. In our study, the overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium in chickens (13.2%; 132/1001) was comparable to previous numbers reported for domestic chickens in Brazil (12.6%) [ 10 ], China (10.2%) [ 8 ] and Syria (9.9%) [ 26 ], and higher than Iran (0.5%) [ 27 ], Tunisia (4.5%) [ 28 ], Jordan (4.8%) [ 29 ] and Germany (5.7%) [ 15 ], but lower than Brazil (25.6%) [ 30 ] and Algeria (34.4%) [ 4 ]. Differences in hygiene, management practices, sample origin and detection methods may contribute to these differences in the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in poultry flocks.…”