Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Nov 4;28(Suppl 1):9.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2017.28.1.9313. eCollection 2017.

Cryptosporidium infection in calves and the environment in Asembo, Western Kenya: 2015

Allan Ogendo  1   2 , Mark Obonyo  2   3 , Peter Wasswa  4 , Austine Bitek  3   5 , Amos Mbugua  1 , Samuel Mwangi Thumbi  6
Affiliations

Cryptosporidium infection in calves and the environment in Asembo, Western Kenya: 2015

Allan Ogendo et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: Cryptosporidium species, a zoonotic enteric coccidian parasite, is among the leading causes of diarrhea in children. We evaluated the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infections in calves, factors associated with calf infection, environmental contamination of manure by Cryptosporidium and factors that expose humans to zoonotic transmission in Asembo.

Methods: in a cross-sectional study conducted from January to July 2015, we collected fecal specimens from 350 randomly selected calves aged ≤ 6 months old and 187 manure samples from the same farms. We assessed farmers' knowledge about Cryptosporidium and collected data on characteristics using structured questionnaires. Modified Ziehl Nielsen staining was used to detect Cryptosporidium oocysts from calves' stool and manure. The prevalence of infected calves and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% (CI) were calculated to identify possible factors associated with Cryptosporidium infection; multivariable logistic regression performed to identify factors independently associated with the presence of Cryptosporidium.

Results: calves' fecal Cryptosporidium prevalence was 8.3% (95% CI: 5.7-11.8) and 7.5% (95% CI: 4.2-12.2) in manure. Odds of infection was higher in calves with loose stool compared to those with normal stool (AOR = 6.1, 95% C.I: 2.2-16.9), calves ≤ 2 months old compared to older calves (AOR=12.7, 95% C.I: 4.5-35.8) and calves in poor sanitation compared to calves in good hygienic conditions (AOR = 9.9, 95% C.I: 3.1-30.7).

Conclusion: presence of Cryptosporidium species in calves and environment and reported human contact with animals increases zoonotic risk. We recommend further studies that determine specific Cryptosporidium species infecting animals and humans which would better estimate risk of disease transmission to humans.

Keywords: Cryptosporidium; Kenya; calves; zoonotic.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Guerrant RL. Cryptosporidiosis: an emerging, highly infectious threat. Emerg Infect Dis. 1997;3(1):51–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fayer R, Morgan U, Upton SJ. Epidemiology of Cryptosporidiumtransmission, detection and identification. Int J Parasitol. 2000;30(12-13):1305–22. - PubMed
    1. Kotloff KL, Nataro JP, Blackwelder WC, Nasrin D, Farag TH, Panchalingam S, et al. Burden and aetiology of diarrhoeal disease in infants and young children in developing countries (the Global Enteric Multicenter Study, GEMS): a prospective, case-control study. Lancet. 2013 Jul 20;382(9888):209–22. - PubMed
    1. Leav BA, Mackay M, Ward HD. Cryptosporidiumspecies: New insights and old challenges. Clin Infect Dis. 2003 Apr 1;36(7):903–8. Epub 2003 Mar 18. - PubMed
    1. MacKenzie WR, Schell WL, Blair KA, Addiss DG, Peterson DE, Hoxie NJ, et al. Massive outbreak of waterborne Cryptosporidiuminfection in Milwaukee, WisconsIn: recurrence of illness and risk of secondary transmission. Clin Infect Dis. 1995;21(1):57–62. - PubMed