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

Caffarena, Rubén D.; Meireles, Marcelo Vasconcelos; Carrasco-Letelier, Leónidas; Picasso-Risso, Catalina; Santana, Bruna Nicoleti; Riet-Correa, Franklin; Giannitti, Federico

doi:10.3389/fvets.2020.00562

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 74 publications

(118 reference statements)

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“…In western mainland Europe, the IIaA15G2R1 subtype was previously described as the most prevalent in cattle [36,37,40,[42][43][44]. Similar observations were reported in other European countries, including Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom [20,51,52,54,55,57,66,67,88] and in other parts of the world such as Japan and Uruguay [89,90].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Cross-border investigations on the prevalence and transmission dynamics of Cryptosporidium species in dairy cattle farms in western mainland Europe

Pinto

Ribeiro

Hoque

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Cryptosporidium is comprised an apicomplexan parasitic protist, which infects a wide range of hosts, causing cryptosporidiosis. In cattle farms, the incidence of cryptosporidiosis results in high mortality in calves leading to considerable economic loss in the livestock industry. Infected animals may also act as a major reservoir of Cryptosporidium spp., in particular C. parvum, the most common cause of cryptosporidiosis in calves. This poses a significant risk to other farms via breeding centres, to trading of livestock and to human health. This study, funded by the Interreg-2-seas programme, is a part of a global project aimed at strategies to tackle cryptosporidiosis. To reach this target, it was essential to determine whether prevalence was dependent on the studied countries or if the issue was borderless. Indeed, C. parvum occurrence was assessed across dairy farms in certain regions of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. At the same time, the animal-to-animal transmission of the circulating C. parvum subtypes was studied. To accomplish this, 1084 faecal samples, corresponding to 57 dairy-farms from all three countries, were analysed. Well-established protocols amplifying the 18S rDNA and gp60 genes fragments, followed by DNA sequencing, were used for the detection and subtyping C. parvum; the DNA sequences obtained were further characterised using a combination of bioinformatics and phylogenetics methods. Our results show 25.7%, 24.9% and 20.8% prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in Belgium, France and the Netherlands respectively. Overall, 93% of the farms were Cryptosporidium positive. The gp60 subtyping demonstrated a significant number of the C. parvum positives belonged to the IIa allelic family, which has been also detected in humans. Consequently, this study highlights how widespread is C. parvum in dairy farms and endorses cattle as a major carrier of zoonotic C. parvum subtypes, which subsequently pose a significant threat to human health.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Cross-border investigations on the prevalence and transmission dynamics of Cryptosporidium species in dairy cattle farms in western mainland Europe

Pinto

Ribeiro

Hoque

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…Given the geographic proximity of the dairy calf rearing areas and natural surface watersources in Uruguay, the dense network of rivers and the relatively high annual rainfalls and occasional flooding events in this country, calves pose a risk for surface water contamination with fecal pathogens, notably Cryptosporidium spp. [50]. Because some subtypes of Cryptosporidium parvum are zoonotic and cattle are reservoir of potentially zoonotic strains [51,52], and considering that Cryptosporidium spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…has been identified as a cause of diarrhea in children in Uruguay [ 53 ], we further speciated and subtyped the cryptosporidia detected in calves in this study. Interestingly, of seven C. parvum subtypes detected in 166 calves, five subtypes detected in 143 calves from nearly all farms had been detected in humans elsewhere and have zoonotic potential [ 50 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes of neonatal calf diarrhea and mortality in pasture-based dairy herds in Uruguay: a farm-matched case-control study

et al. 2021

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Neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD) and mortality cause significant losses to the dairy industry. The preweaning dairy calf mortality risk in Uruguay is high (15.2%); however, causes for these losses are largely unknown. This study aimed to assess whether various pathogens were associated with NCD and death in Uruguayan dairy calves and whether these infections, diarrhea, or deaths were associated with the failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI). Contemporary diarrheic (n = 264,) and non-diarrheic (n = 271) 1-to 30-day-old calves from 27 farms were sampled. Feces were analyzed by antigen-capture ELISA for Cryptosporidium spp., rotavirus, bovine coronavirus, and Escherichia coli F5+, RT-PCR for bovine astrovirus (BoAstV), and bacterial cultures for Salmonella enterica. Blood/serum was analyzed by RT-PCR or antigen-capture ELISA for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). Serum of ≤ 8-day-old calves (n = 95) was assessed by refractometry to determine the concention of serum total proteins (STP) as an indicator of FTPI. Whether the sampled calves died before weaning was recorded. At least one pathogen was detected in 65.4% of the calves, and this percentage was significantly higher in diarrheic (83.7%) versus non-diarrheic (47.6%) calves. Unlike the other pathogens, Cryptosporidium spp. and rotavirus were associated with NCD. Diarrheic calves, calves infected with any of the pathogens, and calves infected with rotavirus had significantly lower concentrations of STP. Diarrheic calves had higher chances of dying before weaning than non-diarrheic calves. Diarrheic calves infected with S. enterica were at increased risk of mortality. Controlling NCD, salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis, and rotavirus infections, and improving colostrum management practices would help to reduce calf morbi-mortality in dairy farms in Uruguay.

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“…Nevertheless, the assembly done here to our knowledge represents the first IIaA17G2R1 subtype isolate for which long read sequencing has been performed. C. parvum belonging to the IIaA17G2R1 subtype have been identified in farms in various regions of the world [33][34][35], was the second most common genotype identified in human cases in a recent study done in Canada [36] and is responsible for causing foodborne outbreaks in the US [37,38] Published studies have shown the presence of contingency genes in Cryptosporidium spp., which are responsible for surmounting challenges from the host and are subject to spontaneous mutation rates [39][40][41]. The majority of these genes are located in the telomere regions of the chromosomes, which are prime sites that evolve and mediate host-parasite interactions [30,42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fully resolved assembly of Cryptosporidium parvum

Chappell

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundCryptosporidium parvum are apicomplexan parasites commonly found across many species with a global infection prevalence of 7.6%. As such it is important to understand the diversity and genomic makeup of this prevalent parasite to prohibit further spread and to fight an infection. The general basis of every genomic study is a high-quality reference genome that has continuity and completeness and is of high quality and thus enables comprehensive comparative studies.FindingsHere we provide a highly accurate and complete reference genome of Cryptosporidium spp.. The assembly is based on Oxford Nanopore reads and was improved using Illumina reads for error correction. The assembly encompasses 8 chromosomes and includes 13 telomeres that were resolved. Overall, the assembly shows a high completion rate with 98.4% single copy Busco genes. This is also shown by the identification of 13 telomeric regions across the 8 chromosomes. The consensus accuracy of the established reference genome was further validated by sequence alignment of established genetic markers for C.parvum.ConclusionsThis high-quality reference genome provides the basis for subsequent studies and comparative genomic studies across the Cryptosporidium clade.

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

Cited by 14 publications

References 74 publications

Cross-border investigations on the prevalence and transmission dynamics of Cryptosporidium species in dairy cattle farms in western mainland Europe

Cross-border investigations on the prevalence and transmission dynamics of Cryptosporidium species in dairy cattle farms in western mainland Europe

Causes of neonatal calf diarrhea and mortality in pasture-based dairy herds in Uruguay: a farm-matched case-control study

Fully resolved assembly of Cryptosporidium parvum

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