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. 2019 Oct 30;7(11):513.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms7110513.

Cryptosporidium Prevalence in Calves and Geese Co-Grazing on Four Livestock Farms Surrounding Two Reservoirs Supplying Public Water to Mainland Orkney, Scotland

Beth Wells  1 , Claire Paton  2 , Ross Bacchetti  3 , Hannah Shaw  4 , William Stewart  5 , James Plowman  6 , Frank Katzer  7 , Elisabeth A Innes  8
Affiliations

Cryptosporidium Prevalence in Calves and Geese Co-Grazing on Four Livestock Farms Surrounding Two Reservoirs Supplying Public Water to Mainland Orkney, Scotland

Beth Wells et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

The parasite Cryptosporidium parvum represents a threat to livestock health and production, water quality and public health. Cattle are known to be significant reservoirs of C. parvum, but transmission routes are complex and recent studies have implicated the potential role of wildlife in parasite transmission to cattle and water sources. On the Orkney Isles, high densities of Greylag geese (Anser anser) cause widespread faecal contamination of cattle pastures, where cryptosporidiosis is known to be the main cause of neonatal calf diarrhoea and Cryptosporidium contamination frequently occurs in two reservoirs supplying Mainland Orkney's public water. This study aimed to determine the Cryptosporidium species and subtypes present in geese and calves co-grazing on four farms surrounding two reservoirs on Mainland Orkney. Results indicated a high level of C. parvum prevalence in calves, geese and water samples. gp60 analysis illustrated that higher genotypic diversity was present in the goose population compared with calves, but did not yield sequence results for any of the water samples. It can be concluded that the high levels of C. parvum evident in calves, geese and water samples tested represents a significant risk to water quality and public health.

Keywords: Cryptosporidium parvum; calves; catchments; geese; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cryptosporidium species prevalence (%) found on each farm in calves and geese.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cryptosporidium species prevalence (%) found in water samples from Kirbister and Boardhouse reservoirs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of C. parvum-positive samples with each identified genotype present in calf and goose samples.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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