Occurrence of Cryptosporidium suis and Cryptosporidium scrofarum on commercial swine farms in the Czech Republic and its
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Occurrence of Cryptosporidium suis and Cryptosporidium scrofarum on commercial swine farms in the Czech Republic and its associations with age and husbandry practices Karel Němejc & Bohumil Sak & Dana Květoňová & Naděžda Kernerová & Michael Rost & Vitaliano A. Cama & Martin Kváč Received: 17 October 2012 / Accepted: 10 December 2012 / Published online: 28 December 2012 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
Abstract From 2009 to 2011, the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. was investigated on 22 farms in the Czech Republic. A total of 1,620 individual faecal samples of pigs of all age categories (pre-weaned, starters, pre-growers, growers, and sows) were evaluated for presence of Cryptosporidium spp. by standard microscopy and molecular tools. Genotyping was done through PCR amplification and characterization of the SSU rRNA (species-specific protocols) and GP60 loci. Cryptosporidium spp. was found on 16 of 22 farms with a range 0.9–71.4 %. Overall, 194 (12 %) specimens were positive by microscopy and 353 (21.8 %) by PCR. While RFLP and direct sequencing of the PCRamplified products showed presence of Cryptosporidium suis (142), Cryptosporidium scrofarum (195), Cryptosporidium muris (3) and 13 samples had mixed infections with C. suis and C. scrofarum, species-specific molecular tools identified C. suis (224), C. scrofarum
(208), Cryptosporidium parvum subtype IIa A16G1R1b (1), and C. muris (3). In addition, a total of 82 pigs had concurrent infections with C. suis and C. scrofarum. The analysis by age showed that C. suis was primarily detected among pre-weaned, whereas C. scrofarum was mostly detected among starters, especially those weaned at a younger age. Moreover, C. scrofarum never has been detected in animals younger than 6 weeks of age. Also, piglets weaned at 3 weeks of age were twice more likely to be infected with C. scrofarum than piglets weaned at an older age. Pigs raised on straw bedding were more likely to have Cryptosporidium than pigs raised on slats/slurry systems. The infections with different species were not associated with loose faeces or intensity of oocyst shedding, even when comparing different age groups.
Introduction K. Němejc : N. Kernerová : M. Kváč Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 13, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic B. Sak : D. Květoňová : M. Kváč (*) Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic e-mail: [email protected] M. Rost Faculty of Economics, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 13, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic V. A. Cama Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Cryptosporidia are ubiquitous protozoans that infects all classes of vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and more than 150 species of mammals) including humans (Smith et al. 2007; Fayer 2008; Chalmers and Giles 2010; Fayer 2010; Wang et al
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