Sheep as a Potential Source of Zoonotic Cryptosporidiosis in China

Abstract

In this study, we assessed the prevalence and genetic characteristics of in sheep from 10 provinces in China. Fecal samples from 1,035 sheep originating from 16 farms were collected, and 295 (28.5%) were found to be positive by nested PCR. was detected at all farms, with infection rates between 5.7% and 50.0%. Three species were identified, including (73.2%, 216/295), (21.7%, 64/295), and (5.1%, 15/295). The distribution of species differed by province and by farm. All three species were detected in lambs and adult sheep but the highest infection rate was found in postweaned lambs. All three species were detected in all four seasons, with the highest prevalence found in autumn. Four subtypes (IIaA15G2R1, IIaA17G2R1, IIdA18G1, and IIdA19G1) and one subtype (XIIa) were identified. For most provinces in this study, we are not aware of a previously published description or molecular characterization of infections in sheep. This information will improve our knowledge and understanding of the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in China. is an important zoonotic parasite that causes diarrhea in humans and animals worldwide. Previous studies suggested geographic differences in the distribution of species in sheep. However, molecular characterization studies of species in sheep have been carried out in only a few provinces in China, and the limited data available do not reflect the real situation. In this study, five districts, covering most areas where sheep are bred in China, were selected for examination of species, and infections were detected at all farms assessed, suggesting that is widespread in sheep in China. We also found geographic differences in the distribution of species but did not detect any differences between sheep age groups or seasons. Subtyping analyses showed that all of the subtypes identified in this study have been reported in humans, suggesting that sheep may be a potential source of zoonotic cryptosporidiosis.

Epidemiology of Cryptosporidiosis in France from 2017 to 2019

“…The IIdA18G1 subtype appeared mainly represented in the region of “Occitanie” where sheep farming is dominant. It is coherent with the literature since this subtype has already been described in sheep and lambs [ 46 , 47 ]. Not surprisingly, the anthroponotic C. hominis IbA10G2 subtype was mainly reported; this subtype is known as the worldwide dominant C. hominis subtype [ 7 , 20 , 28 , 48 ].…”

Cryptosporidium infections in sheep farms from Italy

“…The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection found in this study (10.1%) is higher than that reported in Spain (5.9%; Díaz et al, 2018a ) and lower than most investigations worldwide, which have reported infection rates ranging from 14 to 29% (Holsback et al, 2018 , Mi et al, 2018 , Chikweto et al, 2019 , Khan et al, 2019 ). A prevalence higher than 50% has also been recorded (Bhat et al, 2019 ).…”

“…The two Cryptosporidium species identified in lambs from Sardinia, C. parvum and C. ubiquitum , are considered the most common species in sheep together with C. xiaoi (Ye et al, 2013 , Tzanidakis et al, 2014 , Li et al, 2016 , Baroudi et al, 2018 , Díaz et al, 2018a , Mi et al, 2018 , Mammeri et al, 2019 , Qi et al, 2019 , Rabee et al, 2020 , Santín, 2020). Our results are in agreement with most investigations reporting C. parvum as the main species in pre-weaned lambs (Castro-Hermida et al, 2007 , Paoletti et al, 2009 ,Tzanidakis et al, 2014 ) and especially in those presenting diarrhoea (Mueller-Doblies et al, 2008 , Quílez et al, 2008 , Díaz et al, 2010 , 2015 , Papanikolopoulou et al, 2018 , Mammeri et al, 2019 , Kabir et al, 2020 ).…”

Dairy Calves in Uruguay Are Reservoirs of Zoonotic Subtypes of Cryptosporidium parvum and Pose a Potential Risk of Surface Water Contamination

“…One study identified the exclusive occurrence of a few IIa subtypes in yak, including IIaA15G2R1 (n: 8), IIaA16G2R1 (n: 2), IIaA14G1R1 (n: 1), IIaA14G2R1 (n: 1) and IIaA16G3R1 (n: 1) ( 80 ). The IIa subtypes identified in sheep include IIaA15G2R1 and IIaA17G2R1 ( 81 ), and those identified in goats include IIaA14G2R1, IIaA15G1R1, IIaA15G2R1 and IIaA17G2R1 ( 82 ). Of these seven IIa subtypes identified in yak, sheep, and goats in China, only subtypes IIaA15G2R1 and IIaA17G2R1 were identified in calves in Uruguay.…”