Prevalence and molecular characterization of bovine Cryptosporidium in Qazvin province, Iran

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, variability with host age, and the genotypes of species of Cryptosporidium in cattle from 15 dairy farms in Qazvin province, Iran. Fecal samples, collected from 272 cattle during May 2006 to December 2007, were characterized microscopically. Oocysts from 51 positive samples were analyzed using PCR assay of 18S SSU rRNA, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequencing. We identified 72.6% of the positive samples as Cryptosporidium parvum, 17.7% as Cryptosporidium andersoni, 7.8% as Cryptosporidium bovis and 1.9% as a novel genotype of C. parvum possessing a single mutation on MboII restriction. An infection rate of 19.5% of C. parvum among 174 pre-weaned calves was significantly higher than the 3.1% among 98 post-weaned calves (P<0.0006). This is the first report of C. bovis and the new subgenotype of C. parvum in Iranian cattle.