Molecular characterisation of Cryptosporidium isolates from humans in Slovenia

Twenty-nine faecal specimens from Slovenian patients in which Cryptosporidium oocysts had been identified were studied. A fragment of the Cryptosporidium 18S rRNA gene and a fragment of the Cryptosporidium COWP gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Cryptosporidium parvum was identified in 26 of the 29 specimens, Cryptosporidium hominis in two, and Cryptosporidium cervine genotype in one. The fact that C. parvum, which is associated traditionally with animals, was identified in the majority of human faecal specimens suggests that cryptosporidiosis may have primarily a zoonotic origin in Slovenia.