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Prevalence and risk factors of Cryptosporidium infection in farmed pigs in Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Yunnan provinces, China

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Abstract

Cryptosporidiosis is caused by species of Cryptosporidium protozoa that can infect a wide range of host animals worldwide. However, data regarding Cryptosporidium infection in farmed pigs in subtropical areas in China is limited. Therefore, a total of 396 fecal samples were obtained from farmed pigs from Zhejiang (n = 124), Guangdong (n = 72), and Yunnan (n = 200) provinces, China, and were tested by PCR amplification of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium in pigs was 17.68% (70/396), with 20.11% (36/179) in male pigs and 15.67% (34/217) in female pigs. Additionally, Cryptosporidium prevalence was 8.33% (6/72) in Guangdong province, 14.52% (18/124) in Zhejiang province, and 23.00% (46/200) in Yunnan province. A DNA sequence analysis of the SSU rRNA gene revealed that all of the isolates represented C. scrofarum. This is the first report of C. scrofarum infection in pigs in Guangdong and Yunnan provinces in subtropical areas of China. The results of the present study provide foundation data for control and prevention of Cryptosporidium infection in pigs in the study areas in China.

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Acknowledgments

Project support was provided by the Fundamental Research Funds of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Grant No. Y2016JC05) and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (ASTIP) (Grant No. CAAS-ASTIP-2014-LVRI-03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin Province, 130118, People’s Republic of China

    Yang Zou, Jian-Gang Ma, Wen-Bin Zheng, Xiao-Xuan Zhang & Quan Zhao

  2. State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, 730046, People’s Republic of China

    Yang Zou, Jian-Gang Ma, Dong-Mei Yue, Wen-Bin Zheng, Xiao-Xuan Zhang & Xing-Quan Zhu

  3. College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Heilongjiang Province, 163319, People’s Republic of China

    Dong-Mei Yue

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  1. Yang Zou
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  2. Jian-Gang Ma
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  3. Dong-Mei Yue
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  4. Wen-Bin Zheng
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  5. Xiao-Xuan Zhang
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  7. Xing-Quan Zhu
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Correspondence to Quan Zhao or Xing-Quan Zhu.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

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Zou, Y., Ma, JG., Yue, DM. et al. Prevalence and risk factors of Cryptosporidium infection in farmed pigs in Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Yunnan provinces, China. Trop Anim Health Prod 49, 653–657 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1230-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1230-y

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