Cryptosporidium parvum and Enterocytozoon bieneusi in American Mustangs and Chincoteague ponies
Language English Country United States Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
PubMed
26688100
DOI
10.1016/j.exppara.2015.12.004
PII: S0014-4894(15)30068-0
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- Cryptosporidium, Feral horses, ITS, Microsporidia, SSU, gp60,
- MeSH
- Cryptosporidium parvum classification genetics isolation & purification MeSH
- Animals, Wild MeSH
- Enterocytozoon classification genetics isolation & purification MeSH
- Feces parasitology MeSH
- Phylogeny MeSH
- Genotype MeSH
- Glycoproteins genetics MeSH
- Horses MeSH
- Cryptosporidiosis epidemiology parasitology transmission MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- DNA, Ribosomal Spacer chemistry MeSH
- Microsporidiosis epidemiology parasitology veterinary MeSH
- Horse Diseases epidemiology parasitology MeSH
- Prevalence MeSH
- RNA, Ribosomal genetics MeSH
- Zoonoses parasitology transmission MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
- Geographicals
- United States epidemiology MeSH
- Names of Substances
- Glycoproteins MeSH
- DNA, Ribosomal Spacer MeSH
- RNA, Ribosomal MeSH
The prevalence of Cryptosporidium and microsporidia in feral horses, which have minimal contact with livestock and humans, is not currently known. We report the findings of a study on Cryptosporidium and microsporidia in 34 Mustangs and 50 Chincoteague ponies in the USA. Fecal samples were screened for presence of Cryptosporidium spp. by analysis of the small-subunit rRNA (SSU) and 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) genes, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon spp. by analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS). Cryptosporidium spp. and E. bieneusi were detected in 28/84 (33.3%) and 7/84 (8.3%) samples, respectively. Sequence analysis of SSU and ITS revealed the presence of Cryptosporidium parvum (n = 20) and E. bieneusi genotype horse 1 (n = 7), respectively. Subtyping of C. parvum isolates at the gp60 locus showed the presence of subtype IIaA17G2R1 in Mustangs and subtypes IIaA13G2R1 and IIaA15G2R1 in Chincoteague ponies. Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotype horse 1 was detected in Mustangs (n = 2) and Chincoteague ponies (n = 5). No Cryptosporidium or E. bieneusi positive animals had diarrhea. The finding that Mustangs and Chincoteague ponies are host to the zoonotic pathogen C. parvum suggests that their infrequent contact with humans and livestock is sufficient to maintain transmission; however, we should also consider the possibility that C. parvum is an established parasite of Mustangs and Chincoteague ponies that persists in these animals independently of contact with humans or livestock.
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Chincoteague Island VA USA
Department of Animal and Rangeland Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis OR USA
Department of Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences North Dakota State University Fargo ND USA
Faculty of Economics University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice Czech Republic
References provided by Crossref.org
Chronic Infections in Mammals Due to Microsporidia
