Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections in dogs and cats in Guangdong
By Li, Jiayu et al.·Published in Parasites & vectors·2019·College of Veterinary Medicine, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Genetic characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in dogs and cats in Guangdong, China.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study in Guangdong, China found that about 7% of dogs and 6% of cats were infected with Cryptosporidium parasites, while nearly 10% of dogs and 4% of cats had Giardia duodenalis, another type of parasite. Younger pets under 6 months and purebred animals were more likely to be infected. The researchers used fecal samples to identify these infections, but interestingly, there was no significant difference in infection rates between pets with diarrhea and those without. This suggests that while these parasites are present in pets, they may not always cause noticeable symptoms.
People also search for: dog diarrhea causes · cat parasite symptoms · Giardia treatment for dogs · Cryptosporidium in pets · puppy infection signs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There are only limited number of reports on molecular epidemiology of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in dogs and cats in China. This study was conducted to assess the infection rates, genetic identity, and public health potential of these parasites in dogs and cats in Guangdong, China. METHODS: PCR and sequence analyses were used to identify and genotype Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis in fecal samples from 641 dogs and 418 cats in Guangdong. Chi-square test and odds ratio analysis were used to compare the occurrence rates of these pathogens and identify risk factors for infection. RESULTS: The overall infection rates of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis were 6.9% (44/641) and 9.4% (60/641) in dogs, and 6.2% (26/418) and 3.6% (15/418) in cats. Purebred cats (12.4%; χ = 5.110, OR = 2.8, P = 0.024) and dogs (10.8%; χ = 5.597, OR = 4.8, P = 0.018) were more likely to be infected by Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis, respectively. Dogs (12.0%; χ = 7.589, OR = 2.6, P = 0.006) and cats (13.6%; χ = 8.235, OR = 3.5, P = 0.004) under 6 months had significantly higher infection rates of Cryptosporidium spp. than older animals. Household (13.9%; χ = 10.279, OR = 2.6, P = 0.008) and pet shop dogs (11.0%; χ = 7.182, OR = 2.0, P = 0.048) had higher occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp., as was the case for G. duodenalis occurrence in experimental dogs (13.4%; χ = 9.223, OR = 1.9, P = 0.017). Cryptosporidium canis (n = 42), C. muris (n = 1) and Cryptosporidium rat genotype IV (n = 1) were identified in dogs, while C. felis (n = 21), C. parvum (n = 3), C. muris (n = 1) and Cryptosporidium rat genotype IV (n = 1) were identified in cats. In contrast, the canine-specific assemblages C (n = 27) and D (n = 26) and the feline-specific assemblage F (n = 14) were almost exclusively the only genotypes of G. duodenalis in dogs and cats, respectively. There was no significant difference in infection rates of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis between diarrheal and non-diarrheal pets. CONCLUSIONS: While domestic pets in Guangdong are infected with zoonotic Cryptosporidium species, they are mainly infected with host-specific G. duodenalis genotypes. Risk factors for infections differ between Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis and between dogs and cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31783765/