Diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. in wild rodents from the Canary Islands, Spain

Abstract

Background: Cryptosporidium spp. are worldwide protozoan parasites which include species that can lead to cryptosporidiosis in humans. Different animal species can serve as reservoirs and sources of dissemination of the disease, such as rodent species due their potential in transmitting zoonotic pathogens to humans and other animals. In the Canary Islands (Spain), Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis have been identified in patients with diarrhea. However, the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in possible reservoirs in this archipelago remains unclear. Considering the zoonotic potential of these protozoans, the aim of the present study was to determine the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. in peridomestic wild rodents and the possible role of these mammals as a source of transmission of these protozoans in Canary Islands. Methods: A total of 179 rodents belonging to Rattus rattus and Mus musculus domesticus from four Canary Islands, La Palma, El Hierro, Tenerife and Lanzarote, were analyzed. Feces were screened for Cryptosporidium spp. by nested PCR of the 18S ribosomal RNA fragment and the sequences used for phylogenetic analyses. Results: Cryptosporidium spp. were found widely distributed with an overall prevalence of 12.30% in rodents (13.86% for R. rattus and 10.25% for M. m. domesticus). The overall prevalence by island was 19.60% for Tenerife, 7.14% for La Palma, 5.71% for El Hierro and 0% for Lanzarote. Cryptosporidium tyzzeri, Cryptosporidium meleagridis, Cryptosporidium muris and Cryptosporidium sp. rat genotype I and II/III were successfully identified, in addition to two unidentified Cryptosporidium genotypes. Conclusions: This study contributes to the knowledge of the biodiversity and distribution of Cryptosporidium spp. in wild rodents from the Canary Islands, highlighting the presence of three zoonotic species, C. tyzzeri, C. meleagridis and C. muris, being the first detection of these three species in wild rodents in the Canary Islands and the first report of C. meleagridis in R. rattus. Given the results obtained in our study, future studies in non-sampled areas are required to better understand the epidemiology of these protozoans in wild rodents in the archipelago.

Occurrence and Genetic Diversity of Protist Parasites in Captive Non-Human Primates, Zookeepers, and Free-Living Sympatric Rats in the Córdoba Zoo Conservation Centre, Southern Spain

“…It should be noted that C. ratti , formerly known as rat genotype I, has been recently proposed as a valid Cryptosporidium species by Martin Kváč’s laboratory [ 39 ]. Of these, C. muris and C. ratti (in addition to C. meleagridis and rat genotype II/III, not identified in the present survey) have been previously described in black rats from the Canary Islands [ 42 ]. Overall, our data indicate that rats captured at the CZCC were infected by murine-adapted Cryptosporidium species/genotypes and played a limited role as a source of cryptosporidiosis to NHP.…”

“…In the only two previous studies published in Spain, Cryptosporidium spp. infections have been reported in black rats from Catalonia (1/1) and the Canary Islands (14/101) [ 41 , 42 ]. Our sequence analyses revealed the presence of four distinct Cryptosporidium species/genotypes including rat genotype IV (69%), C. ratti (17%), C. muris (10%), and rat genotype V (4%).…”

Parasites Circulating in Wild Synanthropic Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris): A One Health Approach

“…Furthermore, Cryptosporidium-specific antigens (CSA) were found in studied areas, thus indicating a potentially wide occurrence along the Orinoco Basin. While anthropozoonotic Cryptosporidium species have already been described in nine rodent families [63][64][65][66][67][68], there is only one report of C. parvum in capybaras [31]. Interestingly, the highest occurrence of CSA was found in Cinaruco, furthest away from populated centers whose closest human settlement is located at 20.598 Km.…”

“…Furthermore, Cryptosporidium -specific antigens (CSA) were found in studied areas, thus indicating a potentially wide occurrence along the Orinoco Basin. While anthropozoonotic Cryptosporidium species have already been described in nine rodent families [ 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ], there is only one report of C . parvum in capybaras [ 31 ].…”

Rodent-Related Zoonotic Pathogens at the Human–Animal–Environment Interface in Qatar: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…We only conducted a mini-review (at the beginning of the systematic review) to understand rodent-related zoonotic pathogens in general. In there, we emphasized only the descriptive articles [ 3 , 5 , 6 ] and 35 additional reports to list rodent-borne zoonotic diseases [ 123 , 124 , 127 , 128 , 133 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 , 171 , 172 , 173 , 174 ]. Therefore, there is a chance we missed pathogens that were not described by these studied articles.…”