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Equine Cryptosporidium parvum infections in western Poland

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Abstract

A total of 564 fecal specimens from 318 horses used for recreational riding, child hippotherapy, and racing at ten commercial and government-run stables in western Poland were tested for Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts by microscopic examination of Ziehl–Neelsen stained smears, enzyme immunoassay, and combined direct immunofluorescent antibody and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Also, seven stool specimens from five personnel who had repeated contact with these horses were tested for C. parvum oocysts. Eleven horses that shed C. parvum oocysts were found in five of ten stables (50%). The prevalence of infection varied from 0% to 11.5%. The overall prevalence of equine C. parvum-associated cryptosporidiosis in the Wielkopolska region of western Poland was 3.5%. C. parvum oocysts were found only in fecal samples from mature horses, the number of oocysts was low, and infections were not associated with clinical signs. Oocysts were not found in human fecal specimens.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland (grant no. 501-1-07-02), and NATO Collaborative Linkage Grant 979765. The authors thank Dr. L. Kuczynski, Department of Animal Morphology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland, for his contribution to graphics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

    Leena Tamang & Thaddeus K. Graczyk

  2. Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-701, Poznan, Poland

    Anna C. Majewska & Piotr Solarczyk

Authors
  1. Anna C. Majewska
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  2. Piotr Solarczyk
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  3. Leena Tamang
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  4. Thaddeus K. Graczyk
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Correspondence to Thaddeus K. Graczyk.

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Majewska, A.C., Solarczyk, P., Tamang, L. et al. Equine Cryptosporidium parvum infections in western Poland. Parasitol Res 93, 274–278 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1111-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1111-y

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