Abstract
Ladakh is the high altitude (11,184 ft above sea level) cold desert region in the state of Jammu & Kashmir (India), where winter temperature goes below − 35 °C. A total of 37 faecal samples were collected from local Changthangi and Russian merino sheep of the Leh region of Ladakh, having the history of diarrhoea and emaciation, followed by death. Of the 37 samples collected, 20 (54.05%) showed presence of Cryptosporidium sp. infection on faecal smear examination after Ziehl–Neelsen staining. The number of samples positive for Cryptosporidium sp. infection on faecal smear examination was 7 and 13 for Russian Merino and local Changthangi sheep, respectively. The occurrence of Cryptosporidium sp. infection was similar in both sexes, 11/20 (55%) in females and 9/20 (45%) for males. The Age-wise occurrence of Cryptosporidium sp. infection in different age groups was found to be: 50% in less than 2 year age group and 50% in more than 2 year age group. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Cryptosporidium sp. infection in adult sheep from India. The survival of the parasite at such freezing temperature gives the insight about its cold-resistant nature.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahamed I, Yadav A, Katoch R, Godara R, Saleem T, Nisar NA (2015) Prevalence and analysis of associated risk factors for Cryptosporidium infection in lambs in Jammu district. J Parasit Dis 39(3):414–417. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-013-0353-y
Angus KW, Appleyard WT, Menzies JD, Campbell I, Sherwood D (1982) An outbreak of diarrhea associated with cryptosporidiosis in naturally reared lambs. Vet Rec 110:129–130
Bhat SA, Juyal PD, Singla LD (2013) Bovine cryptosporidiosis: brief review of its distribution in India. Trends Parasitol Res 2(2):5–13
Brar APS, Sood NK, Kaur P, Singla LD, Sandhu BS, Gupta K, Narang D, Singh CK, Chandra M (2017) Periurban outbreaks of bovine calf scours in Northern India caused by Cryptosporidium in association with other enteropathogens. Epidemiol Infect 145(13):2717–2726
Casemore DP, Armstrong M, Sands RL (1985) Laboratory diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis. J Clin Pathol 38:1337–1341. https://doi.org/10.1136/jcp.38.12.1337
Chalmers RM, Elwin K, Reilly WJ, Irvine H, Thomas AL, Hunter PR (2002) Cryptosporidium in farmed animals: the detection of a novel isolate in sheep. Int J Parasitol 32:21–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7519(01)00309-5
Checkley W, White AC Jr, Jaganath D, Arrowood MJ, Chalmers RM, Chen XM (2015) A review of the global burden, novel diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccine targets for Cryptosporidium. Lancet Infect Dis 15:85–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(14)70772-8
De Graaf DC, Vanopdenbosch E, Ortega-Mora LM, Abbassi H, Peeters JE (1999) A review of the importance of cryptosporidiosis in farm animals. Int J Parasitol 29:1269–1287. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7519(99)00076-4
Fayer R, Nerad T (1996) Effects of low temperatures on viability of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. Appl Environ Microbiol 62(4):1431–1433
Fayer R, Morgan U, Upton SJ (2000) Epidemiology of Cryptosporidium: transmission, detection and identification. Int J Parasitol 30:1305–1322. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7519(00)00135-1
Foreyt WJ (1990) Coccidiosis and cryptosporidiosis in sheep and goats. Vet Clin N Am Food Anim Pract 6:655–670. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-0720(15)30838-0
Henricksen SA, Pohlenz JFL (1981) Staining of cryptosporidia by a modified Ziehl–Neelsen technique. Acta Parasitol 22:594
Hunter PR, Thompson RC (2005) The zoonotic transmission of Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Int J Parasitol 35:1181–1190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2005.07.009
Majewska AC, Werner Sulima P, Luty T (2000) Prevalence of Cryptosporidium in sheep and goats bred on five farms in west-central region of Poland. Vet Parasitol 89:269–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4017(00)00212-0
Olson ME, Thorlakson CL, Deselliers L, Morck DW, McAllister TA (1997) Giardia and Cryptosporidium in Canadian farm animals. Vet Parasitol 68:375–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4017(96)01072-2
Paul S, Chandra D, Ray DD, Tewari AK, Rao JR, Banerjee PS, Baidya S, Raina OK (2008) Prevalence and molecular characterisation of bovine Cryptosporidium isolates in India. Vet Parasitol 153:143–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.01.044
Romero-Salas D, Alvarado-Esquivel C, Cruz-Romero A, Aguilar-Domínguez M, Ibarra- Lee YM, Johnson PW et al (2001) Development and application of a quantitative, specific assay for Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst detection in high-turbidity environmental water samples. Am J Trop Med Hyg 65:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-016-0638-3
Singh BB, Sharma R, Kumar H, Banga HS, Aulakh RS, Gill JPS, Sharma JK (2006) Prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum infection in Punjab and its association with diarrhoea in neonatal dairy calves. Vet Parasitol 140:162–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2006.03.029
Tzipori S, Angus KW, Campbell I, Clerihew LW (1981) Diarrhea due to Cryptosporidium infection in artificially reared lambs. J Clin Microbiol 14:100–105
Xiao L, Herd RP, Rings DM (1993) Diagnosis of Cryptosporidium on sheep farm with neonatal diarrhea by immunofluorescence assays. Vet Parasitol 47:17–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4017(93)90172-J
Yadav A, Katoch R, Katoch M, Aggarwal R, Khajuria JK, Godara R, Kalha R (2012) Cross sectional study and analysis of potential risk factors for Cryptosporidium sp. infection in buffalo calves in Jammu. Vet Pract 13(2):278–281
Acknowledgements
The authors are highly thankful to Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Shuhama, Alusteng, Srinagar, J&K, India for providing funds and necessary infrastructure required for the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
AMB, SP and SG did sample collection and processing, while as HUM, NM and SVS wrote the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the information provided in this manuscript.
Ethical approval
The study was approved by Institutional Animal Ethics Committee of Faculty of veterinary and animal sciences, Shuhama, Srinagar, J&K, India.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bhat, A.M., Malik, H.U., Wani, N.M. et al. First report of Cryptosporidium sp. infection in sheep population of Ladakh, India. J Parasit Dis 43, 513–516 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-019-01119-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-019-01119-1