Molecular detection of Cryptosporidium spp. infections in water buffaloes from northeast Thailand.

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the individual and herd-level prevalence and genotype of Cryptosporidium and to identify putative risk factors associated with Cryptosporidium spp. infections in water buffaloes in northeast Thailand. Fecal samples from 600 water buffaloes of 287 farms in six provinces were collected and tested using DMSO-modified acid-fast staining and polymerase chain reaction. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium infections in buffaloes was 5.7 and 8.7% among individual animals and herds, respectively. The provinces with highest infected Cryptosporidium were located in the Sakon Nakhon Basin in the northern part of the region. In addition, higher herd prevalence was observed among farms with more than five buffaloes (30%) than those with five or less animals (16.2%). Thirty (88.2%) of the 34 Cryptosporidium-positive samples were Cryptosporidium parvum and four (11.8%) were Cryptosporidium ryanae.