Identification of Cryptosporidium xiaoi in diarrhoeic goat kids (Capra hircus) in Spain

Faecal specimens from five diarrhoeic goat kids (Capra hircus) younger than 21 days were collected in a goat farm in Galicia (NW Spain) and examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts. Two Cryptosporidium-positive isolates were detected and selected for molecular examination. A banding pattern indicative of Cryptosporidium bovis was obtained after restriction analyses of PCR products from small-subunit rRNA genes. However, both positive isolates were identified as Cryptosporidium xiaoi by sequence analyses of SSU rRNA and actin genes. Our results demonstrate that domestic goats are a host for C. xiaoi and suggest that this parasite species may be involved in the aetiology of neonatal diarrhoeic outbreaks in goat farms. This is the first published description of C. xiaoi in goat kids in Spain.