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First detection of Cryptosporidium proventriculi from wild birds in Cyprus

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Abstract

Cryptosporidium is an important intestinal zoonotic pathogen that can infect various hosts and cause diarrheal disease. There are no reports on the prevalence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium in wild birds in Cyprus. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and genotypes in wild birds found at Phassouri Reedbeds (Akrotiri Wetlands), Cyprus. Fecal samples of 75 wild birds (Eurasian coot Fulica atra, N = 48; Eurasian teal Anas crecca, N = 20; duck – Anas spp., Ν = 7) were screened for Cryptosporidium by PCR amplification and sequencing. Only one sample (1.3%) belonging to a Eurasian coot was PCR-positive for Cryptosporidium. Based on sequencing of the 18S rRNA locus, this species was identified as Cryptosporidium proventriculi. This is the first report on the molecular identification of this Cryptosporidium species in a Eurasian coot.

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Data availability

The material obtained in this study is stored at the Laboratory of Health Sciences Faculty of the Nicosia University. Representative nucleotide sequences obtained in this study were submitted to the GenBank® under the accession number: OM870407.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Katerina Georgiou for her assistance with collecting the samples.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

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Author notes

  1. Eleni Tsouma and Konstantina Sotiriadi contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nicosia Medical School, Department of Basic and Clinical Sciences, 21 Ilia Papakyriakou, 2414, P.O. Box 24005, 1700, Engomi, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Kyriacos A. Hasapis, Chad Schou & Panagiotis Karanis

  2. University of Nicosia, Department of Life and Health Sciences, School of Sciences and Engineering, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Iris Charalambidou, Eleni Tsouma & Konstantina Sotiriadi

  3. Game and Fauna Service, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Nicolaos Kassinis

  4. Medical Faculty and University Hospital, The University of Cologne, 50923, Cologne, Germany

    Panagiotis Karanis

Authors
  1. Kyriacos A. Hasapis
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  2. Iris Charalambidou
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  3. Eleni Tsouma
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  4. Konstantina Sotiriadi
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  5. Nicolaos Kassinis
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  6. Chad Schou
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  7. Panagiotis Karanis
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Kyriacos A Hasapis, Eleni Tsouma, and Konstantina Sotiriadou: formal analysis and investigation, visualization, and writing—original draft. Nicolaos Kassinis: material collection. Chad Schou: material collection, formal investigation, and editing. Iris Charalambidou: conceptualization, methodology, writing—original draft, and supervision. Panagiotis Karanis: conceptualization, methodology, writing—review and editing, and overall supervision. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Panagiotis Karanis.

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All applicable guidelines for the care or use of animals were followed.

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Handling Editor: Una Ryan

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Hasapis, K.A., Charalambidou, I., Tsouma, E. et al. First detection of Cryptosporidium proventriculi from wild birds in Cyprus. Parasitol Res 122, 201–205 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07717-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07717-y

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