An Epidemiological Assessment of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> and <i>Giardia</i> spp. Infection in Pet Animals from Taiwan
2023
Chia-Hui Hsu | Chi Liang | Shi-Chien Chi | Kuan-Ju Lee | Chung-Hsi Chou | Chen-Si Lin | Wen-Yuan Yang
<i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. and <i>Giardia duodenalis</i> are enteric protozoan pathogens in humans. and animals. Companion animals infected with zoonotic species/assemblages are a matter of major public concern around the world. The objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalences of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. and <i>G. duodenalis</i> infections and their co-infection statuses in dogs and cats living in Taiwan and to identify the species and assemblages. Fecal samples were collected from local animal shelters (<i>n</i> = 285) and a veterinary hospital (<i>n</i> = 108). Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using the SSU-rRNA, <i>β</i>-giardin, and glutamate dehydrogenase genes for <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. and <i>G. duodenalis</i>, respectively. Results showed that the overall prevalences of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> and <i>G. duodenalis</i> were 7.38% (29/393) and 10.69% (42/393). In addition, co-infection was detected in 1.02% (4/393) of all samples. Sample source, clinical sign, and breed may be risk factors that influence the infection rate. In <i>Cryptosporidium</i>-positive samples, <i>C. canis</i> and <i>C. felis</i> were detected most frequently. Although the canine-specific assemblages C and D (37/42) were dominant, the zoonotic human-specific assemblage A (1/42) was also found in <i>Giardia</i>-positive samples. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most positive samples belonged to host-specific subtypes/assemblages, while some <i>Cryptosporidium</i> or <i>Giardia</i>-positive samples could be zoonotic. The findings suggested that pet animals could be a cause of zoonotic transmission, causing human cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis in Taiwan.
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