Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University Veterinary Research Forum 2008-8140 5 1 2014 03 01 Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium andersoni infection in naturally infected cattle of northwest Iran 55 60 4632 EN Yousef Mirzai Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran Mohammad Yakhchali Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran Karim Mardani Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran Journal Article 2014 02 17 The protozoan intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium commonly infects cattle throughout the world and Iran. The present study was undertaken to determine the abundance and associated risk factors of Cryptosporidium infection in cattle herds of northwestern Iran. A total number of 246 fecal samples from 138 (56.1%) diarrheic (D) and 108 (43.9%) non-diarrheic (ND) cattle were randomly collected and examined by fecal smears stained with Ziehl-Neelsen. For molecular specification, DNA was extracted from collected Cryptosporidium oocysts and a fragment of 1325 bp in size from 18S rRNA gene was amplified. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection was 22.3% (55/246). The prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in examined calves less than 6 month-old was significantly higher than adult cattle. C. parvum and C. andersoni were identified in 20.3% (50/246) and 2.03% (5/246) of examined cattle, respectively. The highest prevalence of C. parvum infection was found in D calves < 6 month-old (13.4%, 33/246), while C. andersoni was only detected in ND cattle (8.9%, 22/246). There was significant difference in the prevalence between male than female cattle. There was no significant difference between prevalence and seasons of investigation. It was concluded that C. parvum was the prevalent species in younger animals compared to older ones as a potentially zoonotic agent in the region.

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