Prevalence and Intensity of Infection ofCryptosporidiumspp. andGiardia duodenalisin Dairy Cattle in Galicia (NW Spain)
- 24 May 2006
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series B
- Vol. 53 (5), 244-246
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0450.2006.00946.x
Abstract
Faecal samples were collected from 734 cattle selected at random from 60 dairy farms in Galicia (NW Spain). The animals studied were classified into 12 age groups: <1 month (53); 1-5 months (30); 6-11 months (31); 12-16 months (72); 17-20 months (64); 21-24 months (96); 3 years (94); 4 years (74); 5 years (67); 6 years (67); 7-8 years (63) and 9-13 years (23). Oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. were identified in 104 animals (14.2%) distributed throughout all of the age groups and from 40 different farms (66.7%). The percentage of cattle infected ranged between 58.5% in calves <1 month and 7.9% in 7 to 8-year-old cows, i.e. the percentage of infection decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing age. The intensity of infection in animals older than 1 month ranged between 10 and 5924 oocysts/g of faeces and there were no significant differences between the different groups. Cysts of Giardia duodenalis were identified in 221 animals (30.1%) from 56 farms (93.3%). The parasite was detected in all age groups, at rates of infection ranging between 21.8% (9-13 years) and 56.7% (1-5 months), although these differences were not statistically significant. The intensity of infection ranged between 7 and 15 412 cysts/g of faeces, with the number of cysts shed being significantly higher (P < 0.05) in calves <1 month than in calves aged 1-5 months. Significant associations between parasitisation by Cryptosporidium spp. or G. duodenalis and the consistency of the faeces were only found in calves aged <1 month and 1-5 months. Concurrent infections were more prevalent in the groups of calves of 1-5 months (23.3%) and 6-11 months (25.8%).Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Eine einfache Nachweismethode für Kryptosporidien im KotZentralblatt für Veterinärmedizin Reihe B, 2010
- Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium parvum infections in adult goats and their implications for neonatal kidsVeterinary Record, 2005
- The zoonotic transmission of Giardia and CryptosporidiumInternational Journal for Parasitology, 2005
- Incidence of Cryptosporidium parvum in the dairy cattle population in a New York City WatershedVeterinary Parasitology, 2005
- Zoonotic protozoa: from land to seaTrends in Parasitology, 2004
- Molecular epidemiology of Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections in dairy calves originating from three sources in Western AustraliaVeterinary Parasitology, 2004
- Prevalence and age-related variation of Cryptosporidium species and genotypes in dairy calvesVeterinary Parasitology, 2004
- Prevalence and infection pattern of naturally acquired giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis in range beef calves and their damsVeterinary Parasitology, 2003
- A study of cryptosporidiosis in a cohort of neonatal calvesVeterinary Parasitology, 2002
- Prevalence of Giardia sp., Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium muris (C. andersoni) in 109 dairy herds in five counties of southeastern New YorkVeterinary Parasitology, 2000