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. 2025 Jul 9:8:100295.
doi: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2025.100295. eCollection 2025.

Cryptosporidium prevalence in calves and its effect on local water quality prior to abstraction and treatment

Ceri Edwards  1 , Frank Katzer  2 , Paul M Bartley  2 , Janet Roden  1 , Hannah J Shaw  1
Affiliations

Cryptosporidium prevalence in calves and its effect on local water quality prior to abstraction and treatment

Ceri Edwards et al. Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. .

Abstract

Cryptosporidium spp., particularly Cryptosporidium parvum, pose a significant threat to raw water quality and public health. Cryptosporidiosis, a gastrointestinal zoonotic disease, causes diarrhoea in dairy and beef production systems worldwide. Infected calves shed Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts in faeces, posing risks of contaminating surface water sources. Understanding the dynamics of Cryptosporidium contamination is crucial for effective water quality management. This study investigated Cryptosporidium spp. prevalence in neonatal calves and its potential impact on water quality before abstraction and treatment. The study analysed faecal samples from 1-3-week-old calves on two English dairy farms upstream of a water abstraction point. Initial screening used C. parvum immune chromatographic assays (ICT) on 47 faecal samples. This was followed by DNA extraction and species identification, with gp60 subtyping. Raw and treated water quality data were analysed to determine Cryptosporidium oocyst counts. Cryptosporidium parvum was the predominant species in calves at both farms, with gp60 subtype IIaA17G2R1 being the only subtype detected. Some calf samples revealed mixed infections with C. parvum and C. ryanae. Raw-water samples (n = 214) revealed a 50.00% positivity rate for Cryptosporidium oocysts, with 22.43% (24/107) containing C. parvum/C. hominis and the remainder 77.57% (83/107) C. andersoni. Water treatment significantly reduced oocyst counts (P < 0.001); however, due to the increase in popularity of bathing in rivers, oocysts present in raw river water may still prove a public health risk.

Keywords: Bathing rivers; Calves; Cryptosporidium; Public health; Water quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing interests that could have influenced the work reported in this paper. Given their roles as Co-Editor and Guest Editor, respectively, Frank Katzer and Paul Bartley had no involvement in the peer review of this article and have no access to information regarding its peer review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to Professor Aneta Kostadinova (Editor-in-Chief).

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Annual variability of Cryptosporidium oocyst counts in raw water quality results during 2023. The top of the grey box indicates the median value, the black dot indicates the 25th percentile, and the blue dot indicates the 75th percentile.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Monthly rainfall and total Cryptosporidium spp. counts per 10 l of raw water. The blue bar represents the total rainfall (in mm), while the orange bar indicates the total number of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts per 10 l of water.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Detection of Cryptosporidium spp. (total oocyst count) in raw water samples corresponding to the timing of faecal sampling. Grey dots indicate the water samples, and the red triangles indicate the timing of faecal sampling.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Cryptosporidium species detected in faecal samples from calves of the two dairy farms selected.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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