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. 2018 Nov 6;11(1):582.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-3172-2.

Zoonotic Cryptosporidium species and subtypes in lambs and goat kids in Algeria

Djamel Baroudi  1   2 , Ahcene Hakem  3 , Haileeyesus Adamu  4 , Said Amer  5 , Djamel Khelef  1 , Karim Adjou  6 , Hichem Dahmani  7 , Xiaohua Chen  8 , Dawn Roellig  2 , Yaoyu Feng  9 , Lihua Xiao  10
Affiliations

Zoonotic Cryptosporidium species and subtypes in lambs and goat kids in Algeria

Djamel Baroudi et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Little is known on the occurrence and identity of Cryptosporidium species in sheep and goats in Algeria. This study aimed at investigating the occurrence of Cryptosporidium species in lambs and goat kids younger than 4 weeks.

Methods: A total of 154 fecal samples (62 from lambs and 92 from kid goats) were collected from 13 sheep flocks in Médea, Algeria and 18 goat flocks across Algiers and Boumerdes. They were screened for Cryptosporidium spp. by nested-PCR analysis of a fragment of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene, followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analyses to determine the Cryptosporidium species present. Cryptosporidium parvum and C. ubiquitum were further subtyped by sequence analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein gene.

Results: Cryptosporidium spp. were detected in 17 fecal samples (11.0%): 9 from lambs (14.5%) and 8 from goat kids (8.7%). The species identified included C. parvum in 3 lambs, C. xiaoi in 6 lambs and 6 goat kids, and C. ubiquitum in 2 goat kids. Cryptosporidium infections were detected mostly in animals during the first two weeks of life (7/8 for goat kids and 7/9 for lambs) and in association with diarrhea occurrence (7/17 or 41.2% goat kids and 7/10 or 70.0% lambs with diarrhea were positive for Cryptosporidium spp.). Subtyping of C. parvum and C. ubiquitum isolates identified the zoonotic IIaA13G2R1 and XIIa subtype families, respectively. Minor differences in the SSU rRNA gene sequences were observed between C. xiaoi from sheep and goats.

Conclusions: Results of this study indicate that three Cryptosporidium species occur in lambs and goat kids in Algeria, including zoonotic C. parvum and C. ubiquitum. They are associated with the occurrence of neonatal diarrhea.

Keywords: Algeria; Cryptosporidium parvum; Cryptosporidium ubiquitum; Cryptosporidium xiaoi; Goat; Sheep.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval

The procedures used in this investigation comply fully with ethics regulations in Algeria. The study protocol was approved by ethics committee of École Nationale Supérieure Vétérinaire, Algiers, Algeria (PROJET CNEPRU/ CODE: F02620130033).

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of Algeria indicating the locations of sheep and goats in Medea, Algiers and Boumerdes provinces
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Differentiation of Cryptosporidium ubiquitum (Lanes 1, 4), C. xiaoi (Lanes 2, 3, 5–8), and C. parvum (Lanes 9, 10) from lambs and goat kids by RFLP analysis of the SSU rDNA PCR products using restriction enzymes SspI (upper panel) and MboII (lower panel). Lane 11: positive control (C. baileyi); Lane M: 100 bp molecular markers. The extra MboII band in Lane 10 is due to the presence of a non-specific band in the PCR product
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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