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The first report of Cryptosporidium spp. in Microtus fuscus (Qinghai vole) and Ochotona curzoniae (wild plateau pika) in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area, China

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Abstract

Cryptosporidium is one of the most important genera of intestinal zoonotic pathogens, which can infect various hosts and cause diarrhoea. There is little available information about the molecular characterisation and epidemiological prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in Microtus fuscus (Qinghai vole) and Ochotona curzoniae (wild plateau pika) in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area of Qinghai Province, Northwest China. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine Cryptosporidium species/genotypes and epidemiological prevalence in these mammals by detecting the SSU rRNA gene by PCR amplification. The Cryptosporidium spp. infection rate was 8.9% (8/90) in Qinghai voles and 6.25% (4/64) in wild plateau pikas. Positive samples were successfully sequenced, and the following Cryptosporidium species were found: C. parvum, C. ubiquitum, C. canis and a novel genotype in Qinghai voles and C. parvum and a novel genotype in wild plateau pikas. This is the first report of Cryptosporidium infections in M. fuscus and wild O. curzoniae in Northwest China. The results suggest the possibility of Cryptosporidium species transmission among these two hosts, the environment, other animals and humans and provide useful molecular epidemiological data for the prevention and control of Cryptosporidium infections in wild animals and the surrounding environments. The results of the present study indicate the existence of Cryptosporidium species infections that have potential public health significance. This is the first report of Cryptosporidium multi-species infections in these animal hosts.

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Funding

We acknowledge the funding support from the One Thousand Talents Plan of the Chinese Government (NO. WQ2013630172).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture Qinghai University, Center for Biomedicine and Infectious Disease, Qinghai Academy of Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining, 1#Wei’er Road, Biological Scientific Estate Garden, Xining, 810016, Qinghai, People’s Republic of China

    Xueyong Zhang, Yingna Jian, Xiuping Li, Liqing Ma, Gabriele Karanis & Panagiotis Karanis

  2. Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital, Xining City, 810016, Qinghai Province, People’s Republic of China

    Gabriele Karanis

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  1. Xueyong Zhang
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  2. Yingna Jian
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  3. Xiuping Li
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  4. Liqing Ma
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  5. Gabriele Karanis
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  6. Panagiotis Karanis
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Correspondence to Panagiotis Karanis.

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Zhang, X., Jian, Y., Li, X. et al. The first report of Cryptosporidium spp. in Microtus fuscus (Qinghai vole) and Ochotona curzoniae (wild plateau pika) in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area, China. Parasitol Res 117, 1401–1407 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-5827-5

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