Prevalence and molecular detection of Cryptosporidium parvum infection in sheep and cattle in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Abstract

Cryptosporidium species is an obligate intracellular gastrointestinal zoonotic protozoan parasite that widely exists in nature and is associated with cryptosporidiosis outbreaks in humans. There is paucity of reports on the comprehensive study of the epidemiology of the disease in ruminants in the study area. Therefore, this study was undertaken to assess the prevalence, risk factors and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium parvum species in sheep and cattle in Maiduguri, Nigeria. In this cross-sectional study, fecal samples were collected from a total of 764 animals comprising of 383 from cattle and 381 from sheep in Maiduguri, and analyzed microscopically using formalin-ethylacetate sedimentation method followed by modified Kinyoun's acid-fast staining technique. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied to confirm the identity of C. parvum using conventional PCR and sequencing. An overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection was 16.2% (124/764), with cattle having a higher prevalence of 20.4% (78/383) than sheep 12.1% (46/381) using microscopy. Cattle were statistically significantly more infected with Cryptosporidium species than sheep ( p = 0.0026). Multiple regression analysis identified important risk factors for Cryptosporidium specie infection in the sheep to include sex, age, body condition score and fecal consistency while only sex and age were identified as risk factors in the cattle. Cryptosporidium parvum was detected by PCR amplification of 18S rRNA gene in (8/25) from cattle and (5/25) from sheep. This is the first report on the molecular identification of C. parvum from Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria highlighting the need for improved hygiene and biosecurity to reduce the transmission of Cryptosporidiosis in farmed animals. • The study reported an overall prevalence of 16.2% (124/764) in cattle and sheep, with cattle (20.4%) showing a significantly higher prevalence than sheep (12.1%). • Risk factors for Cryptosporidium specie infection in the sheep to include sex, age, body condition score and fecal consistency while only sex and age were identified as risk factors in the cattle. • This study represents the first molecular detection of Cryptosporidium parvum targeting the 18S rRNA gene in both cattle and from sheep in Maiduguri, Borno State.