AUTHOR=Li Dongfang , Deng Han , Zheng Yaxin , Zhang Hongyan , Wang Sen , He Lan , Zhao Junlong 

TITLE=First Characterization and Zoonotic Potential of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in Pigs in Hubei Province of China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.949773

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.949773

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>The zoonotic protozoa parasites <italic>Cryptosporidium</italic> spp. and <italic>Giardia duodenalis</italic> infect a wide range of hosts, including humans. Pigs are reservoir hosts for <italic>Cryptosporidium</italic> spp. and <italic>G. duodenalis</italic>, which can transmit cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis to humans and other animals. The current study sought to investigate the infection rates and species/genotypes of <italic>Cryptosporidium</italic> spp. and <italic>G. duodenalis</italic> in pigs in Hubei of China. The nested PCR and sequence analyses of the small ribosomal subunit RNA (<italic>SSU</italic> rRNA) gene for <italic>Cryptosporidium</italic> spp. and the β-giardin (bg) gene for <italic>G. duodenalis</italic> was utilized to screen for the infection of those parasites in a total of 826 fresh fecal samples. Both <italic>Cryptosporidium</italic> spp. and <italic>G. duodenalis</italic> infection rates were 0.97% (8/826). Of the genotyped positive isolates, 6/8 (75%) were <italic>C. scrofarum</italic> and 2/8 (25%) were <italic>C. suis</italic>, while two zoonotic species <italic>G. duodenalis</italic> assemblage E and assemblage A were also detected in 7/8 (87.5%) isolates and 1/8 (12.5%) isolates, respectively. The findings suggest that both of those parasites in pig in intensive farms of Hubei province, China, pose a potential public health risk.</p>