Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cryptosporidium parasite found in household dogs and puppies in Japan
By Itoh, Naoyuki et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2014·Department of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular detection and characterization of Cryptosporidium species in household dogs, pet shop puppies, and dogs kept in a school of veterinary nursing in Japan.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 31.6% of pet shop puppies in Japan had a parasite called Cryptosporidium, which can cause diarrhea in both dogs and humans. In household dogs, the infection rate was lower at 7.2%, while 18.4% of dogs in a veterinary nursing school were also infected. The researchers used a special test to identify the parasite and found that all samples were the same type, Cryptosporidium canis. While the infection is common in these dogs, the risk of spreading it to humans appears to be low.
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Abstract
Members of Cryptosporidium species, which are protozoan parasites, are prevalent worldwide and can cause diarrhoea in both humans and animals, including dogs. In addition, the Cryptosporidium species harboured in dogs have the potential for zoonotic transmission. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species infection and perform molecular characterization of isolates in household dogs, pet shop puppies, and dogs kept in a school of veterinary nursing in Japan. Fresh faecal samples were collected once from 529 household dogs (aged from 2 months to 18 years old, from 9 veterinary clinics located in 6 different regions), 471 pet shop puppies (≤ 3 months old, from 4 pet shops located in 2 different regions), and 98 dogs (aged from 2 to 11 years old) kept in a veterinary nursing school. A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene was employed for the detection of Cryptosporidium species, and 111 random samples of PCR amplicons (approximately 500-bp) were sequenced for the molecular characterization of the isolates. The prevalences of Cryptosporidium species in household dogs, pet shop puppies, and veterinary nursing school dogs were 7.2%, 31.6%, and 18.4%, respectively. In household dogs, no significant correlation was observed between the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species and the age (≤ 6 months vs. >6 months), living conditions (indoor vs. outdoor), faecal conditions (formed vs. unformed), and location of residence. In pet shop puppies, the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species was not related to faecal condition; however, the prevalence significantly differed among the pet shops. All of the 111 sequence samples (26 from household dogs, 75 from pet shop puppies, and 10 from veterinary nursing school dogs) were identified as Cryptosporidium canis. The present study demonstrates a high prevalence of Cryptosporidium species infections in pet shop puppies and dogs of a veterinary nursing school in Japan. However, because Cryptosporidium hominis and Cryptosporidium parvum are the most common causes of human infections, it is likely that the risk of zoonotic transmission of Cryptosporidium species from dogs to humans is low.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24461210/