Background: Cryptosporidium spp. are globally distributed parasites that infect epithelial cells in the microvillus border of the gastrointestinal tract of all classes of vertebrates. Cryptosporidium chipmunk genotype I is a common parasite in North American tree squirrels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFspp. are common protozoan pathogens in mammals. The diversity and biology of in tree squirrels are not well studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFspp., common parasites of vertebrates, remain poorly studied in wildlife. This study describes the novel species adapted to nutrias ().
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe diversity and biology of Cryptosporidium that is specific for rats (Rattus spp.) are not well studied. We examined the occurrence and genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study was undertaken to describe Cryptosporidium spp. infection in tree squirrels from 17 locations in Northern Italy. A total of 357 squirrels were examined, including species native to Europe (Sciurus vulgaris; n=123), and species introduced from North America (Sciurus carolinensis; n=162) and Southeast Asia (Callosciurus erythraeus; n=72).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWildlife-associated Cryptosporidium are an emerging cause of cryptosporidiosis in humans. The present study was undertaken to determine the extent to which North American tree squirrels and ground squirrels host zoonotic Cryptosporidium species and genotypes. Fragments of the Cryptosporidium 18S rRNA and actin genes were amplified and sequenced from fecal samples obtained from three tree squirrel and three ground squirrel species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBats from the families Rhinolophidae (n = 90) and Vespertilionidae (n = 191) in the USA and Czech Republic were screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium by microscopic and molecular analysis of faecal samples collected from rectum of dissected animals and from the ground beneath roosting sites. Cryptosporidium oocysts were not detected in any of the 281 faecal specimens examined using the aniline-carbol-methyl violet staining method. Nested PCR amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the small ribosomal subunit rRNA and actin genes were used to identify isolates and infer evolutionary relationships.
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