Prevalence and species identification of Cryptosporidium from fecal samples of horses in Taiwan.

Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium. A total of 436 horse fecal samples were collected from 19 farms, and acid-fast staining method was used for primary screening. Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in 161 samples, among which 33 positive sample were selected for nested PCR, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and DNA sequencing of 18 S rDNA, showing 31 samples to be bovine C.

Development of PCR-RFLP method to distinguish between Cryptosporidium parvum and C. hominis in Taiwan water samples.

Cryptosporidium, a protozoan pathogen that causes cryptosporidiosis has emerged as an important source of diarrheal illness among humans and animals. The current routine laboratory technique used for Cryptosporidium diagnosis is light microscopy with acid-fast staining but the technique has low efficiency and sensitivity for species-specific identification. Single PCR to amplify a 220 bp fragment of 18 S ribosomal DNA of C.

Infection of normal C3H/HeN mice with Taenia saginata asiatica oncospheres.

Normal C3H/HeN female mice were used to develop an animal model of Taenia saginata asiatica oncosphere infection. The host cellular immune response in this model was analyzed by a cytokine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cytokine ELISA) and flow cytometry. Tumor-like cysts containing cysticerci were recovered from the inoculation sites of female mice 7 weeks postinfection with the T.

Evaluation of recombinant fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase ELISA test for the diagnosis of Schistosoma japonicum in water buffaloes.

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBPA) is an ubiquitous enzyme essential for glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and the Calvin cycle. It has been demonstrated to induce immune responses and to be useful in the immunodiagnosis of malaria. In this study, FBPA was cloned from the adult worms of Schistosoma japonicum and tested as an antigen for the diagnosis of S.

Application of recombinant Sjc26GST for serodiagnosis of Schistosoma japonicum infection in water buffalo (Bos buffelus).

Schistosomiasis japonica is currently the most serious parasitic disease in mainland China and it is estimated that several million people are infected. Furthermore, it is also responsible for the deaths of many domestic animals. In order to establish an effective diagnostic method, the gene encoding Sjc26GST was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with His-tag.