Occurrence of Cryptosporidium sp. in snakes in Japan

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in snakes in Japan. Fecal samples or intestinal contents of 469 snakes, consisting of five species, were analyzed and Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected only from the Japanese grass snake Rhabdophis tigrinus. The mean prevalence of Cryptosporidium sp. in Japanese grass snakes was approximately 26% in the region studied. Histopathological observations revealed that the organism caused proliferative enteritis in the small intestine. Sequence analysis of a fragment of the small subunit rRNA gene has shown that the partial sequence of Cryptosporidium sp. isolated from the snakes was identical to that of the Cryptosporidium snake genotype W11 from New Guinea viper boa.

Cryptosporidium cf. avium in an inland-bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) – A case report and review of the literature

“…Numerous studies have used PCR to molecularly characterise Cryptosporidium in reptiles (e.g., Xiao et al, 2004 ; Kuroki et al, 2008 ; Pedraza-Díaz et al, 2009 ; Richter et al, 2011 ; Díaz et al, 2013 ) and, typically, C. serpentis Type A is the dominant Cryptosporidium taxon in snakes, followed by C. varanii , and C. varanii is dominant in lizards (reviewed in Bogan et al, 2019 ; Latney and Wellehan, 2020 ). C. serpentis causes a gastric form of Cryptosporidium , and the major symptoms and pathology are gastritis, regurgitation and midbody oedema, while C. varanii causes an intestinal form of disease, with symptoms of proliferative enteritis and chronic wasting ( Bogan et al, 2019 ; Lateny and Wellehan, 2020 ).…”

Public health significance of zoonotic Cryptosporidium species in wildlife: Critical insights into better drinking water management

“…), Green iguana ( Iguana iguana ), Lampropeltis sp; Louisiana pine snake ( Pituophis ruthveni ), Plated lizard ( Gerrhosaurus sp. ), Schneider's Skink ( Eumeces schneideri ), Taipan ( Oxyuranus scutellatus ), Baron's green racer ( Philodryas baroni ), Yellow anaconda ( Eunectes notaeus ), Cornsnake ( Elaphe guttata guttata ), Mato Grosso lancehead ( Bothrops matogrossensis )Intestine and CloacaKoudela and Modry, 1998, Morgan et al., 1999b, Hajdusek et al., 2004, Xiao et al., 2004b, Plutzer and Karanis, 2007, Pedraza-Díaz et al., 2009, Richter et al., 2011, da Silva et al., 2014, Abe and Matsubara, 2015Lizard genotype/ C. serpentis- likeLeopard gecko ( Eublepharis macularius ), Cornsnake ( Pantherophis guttatus ), Chinese wonder gecko ( Teratoscincus scincus )–Xiao et al., 2004b, Richter et al., 2011, Abe and Matsubara, 2015Tortoise genotype IIndian star tortoises ( Geochelone elegans ), Herman's tortoise ( Testudo hermanii ), Ball python ( Python regius ), Russian tortoise ( Agrionemys [Testudo] horsfieldii )StomachXiao et al., 2002b, Xiao et al., 2004b, Alves et al., 2005, Pedraza-Díaz et al., 2009, Griffin et al., 2010; Richter et al., 2012Tortoise genotype II ( C. duismarci )Marginated tortoise ( Testudo marginata ), Ball python ( Python regius ), Veiled chameleon ( Chamaeleo calyptratus ), Pancake tortoise ( Malacochersus tornieri ), Russian tortoise ( Agrionemys [Testudo] horsfieldii )IntestineTraversa et al., 2008, Pedraza-Díaz et al., 2009, Griffin et al., 2010, Traversa, 2010; Richter et al., 2012Snake genotype INew Guinea Viper boa ( Candoia asper ), Japanese grass snakes ( Rhabdophis tigris )–Xiao et al., 2002b, Kuroki et al., 2008–Snake genotype IIBoa constrictor ( Boa constrictor ortoni )Xiao et al., 2004b…”

Prevalência de Cryptosporidium serpentis em serpentes de cativeiro

“…Tais medidas são características do C. serpentis, conforme PLUTZER & KARANIS (2007). Várias espécies de Cryptosporidium estão envolvidas nas infecções de serpentes e incluem C. crotalis, C. serpentis, C. parvum, C. varanii e C. muris (ALVES et al, 2005;PLUTZER & KARANIS, 2007;KUROKI et al, 2008), porém a mais prevalente é C. serpentis e foi a única espécie encontrada neste estudo.…”