TY - JOUR
T1 - Cryptosporidium from a free-ranging marsupial host
T2 - Bandicoots in urban Australia
AU - Dowle, Matthew
AU - Hill, Nichola J.
AU - Power, Michelle L.
PY - 2013/11/15
Y1 - 2013/11/15
N2 - Expansion of human settlement has increased the interface between people and bandicoots with implications for the emergence and spread of zoonotic parasites. The host status of bandicoots inhabiting suburban areas and their potential role in Cryptosporidium transmission remains unresolved. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence and identity of Cryptosporidium in two sympatric bandicoot species. Cryptosporidium signatures were detected in twelve bandicoot faecal samples (n= 98) through amplification of the 18S rRNA. Phylogenetic inference placed the isolates in a clade with Cryptosporidium parvum, a species with a broad host range and zoonotic potential, or loosely related to Cryptosporidium hominis. However, the identity of the bandicoot isolates was not fully resolved and whether they were infected or simply passively transmitting oocysts is unknown. This study revealed that free-ranging bandicoots of northern Sydney were shedding Cryptosporidium oocysts at a prevalence of 12.2% (95% CI [6.76, 20.8]), similar to marsupial species that act as reservoirs for Cryptosporidium. Our findings expand the range of hosts known to shed Cryptosporidium in urban areas.
AB - Expansion of human settlement has increased the interface between people and bandicoots with implications for the emergence and spread of zoonotic parasites. The host status of bandicoots inhabiting suburban areas and their potential role in Cryptosporidium transmission remains unresolved. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence and identity of Cryptosporidium in two sympatric bandicoot species. Cryptosporidium signatures were detected in twelve bandicoot faecal samples (n= 98) through amplification of the 18S rRNA. Phylogenetic inference placed the isolates in a clade with Cryptosporidium parvum, a species with a broad host range and zoonotic potential, or loosely related to Cryptosporidium hominis. However, the identity of the bandicoot isolates was not fully resolved and whether they were infected or simply passively transmitting oocysts is unknown. This study revealed that free-ranging bandicoots of northern Sydney were shedding Cryptosporidium oocysts at a prevalence of 12.2% (95% CI [6.76, 20.8]), similar to marsupial species that act as reservoirs for Cryptosporidium. Our findings expand the range of hosts known to shed Cryptosporidium in urban areas.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84885468675&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.08.017
DO - 10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.08.017
M3 - Article
C2 - 24054949
AN - SCOPUS:84885468675
SN - 0304-4017
VL - 198
SP - 197
EP - 200
JO - Veterinary Parasitology
JF - Veterinary Parasitology
IS - 1-2
ER -