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Outbreak of severe diarrhea due to zoonotic Cryptosporidium parvum and C. xiaoi in goat kids in Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea

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Abstract

Severe diarrhea was reported in goat kids in Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea, from 2021 to 2023, and Cryptosporidium infection was suspected. To confirm the cause of this outbreak, fecal samples were collected from goat farms where diarrhea had been reported and analyzed for Cryptosporidium infection using a molecular assay. A total of 65 fecal samples, including 37 from goats with diarrhea and 28 from goats without diarrhea, were collected from six goat farms. Forty-eight of the goats were kids (<2 months) and 17 were adults (>1 year). Cryptosporidium was identified in 53.8% (35/65) of total samples. Overall, 86.5% (32/37) of the diarrheic fecal samples tested positive; however, Cryptosporidium was not detected in any fecal sample from non-diarrheic adult goats. Therefore, cryptosporidiosis was significantly associated with diarrhea in goat kids, and adult goats were not responsible for transmission of Cryptosporidium to them. Phylogenetic analysis and molecular characterization revealed two Cryptosporidium species, namely, C. parvum (n = 28) and C. xiaoi (n = 7). In the C. parvum-positive samples, gp60 gene analysis revealed three zoonotic subtypes—IIaA18G3R1, IIdA15G1, and IIdA16G1. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to identify C. parvum IIaA18G3R1 and IIdA16G1 in goats, as well as the first to identify C. xiaoi in goats in Korea. These results suggest that goat kids play an important role as reservoir hosts for different Cryptosporidium species and that continuous monitoring with biosecurity measures is necessary to control cryptosporidiosis outbreaks.

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All data supporting the conclusions of this article are included within the article and were submitted to the GenBank database.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to Mr. Suk-Geun Mo for his help with goat fecal sampling.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2021R1F1A1061795); the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (IPET) through the Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Convergence Technologies Program for Educating Creative Global Leader, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) (grant number: 320005-4); and “Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS)” through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) (2021RIS-001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Quarantine Division, Agricultural Policy Bureau, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea

    Ah-Young Kim

  2. Graduate of Veterinary Biosecurity and Protection, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea

    Ah-Young Kim, Kyung-Duk Min, Soochong Kim, Wan-Kyu Lee & Seung-Hun Lee

  3. College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea

    Badriah Alkathiri, Subin Lee, Kyung-Duk Min, Soochong Kim, Sang-Myeong Lee, Wan-Kyu Lee & Seung-Hun Lee

  4. College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea

    Dongmi Kwak

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Contributions

AYK, WKL, and SHL conceptualized the study. AYK, BA, SL, SK, and SHL performed sampling and molecular experiments. AYK, KDM, SML, DK, and SHL analyzed the data. AYK, DK, and SHL contributed to the manuscript. SHL supervised the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seung-Hun Lee.

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Ethics approval

The requirement for ethical review and approval was waived as this study focused on animal fecal samples. The study was performed for the purpose of diagnosis in goats. Animal contact during the examination was minimal, consistent with routine physical examination procedures, and was conducted with appropriate handling under the supervision of licensed veterinarians. None of the treatments were harmful or detrimental to animal welfare.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Animal Quarantine Division, Agricultural Policy Bureau, Chungcheongbuk-do, Cheongju, Korea, with which the authors are affiliated.

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Section Editor: Lihua Xiao

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Kim, AY., Alkathiri, B., Lee, S. et al. Outbreak of severe diarrhea due to zoonotic Cryptosporidium parvum and C. xiaoi in goat kids in Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea. Parasitol Res 122, 2045–2054 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-023-07904-5

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