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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Studying Cryptosporidium Infection in 3D Tissue-derived Human Organoid Culture Systems by Microinjection
Published on: September 14, 2019
Cryptosporidium cuniculus--new records in human and kangaroo in Australia
Anson V Koehler1, Margaret J Whipp2, Shane R Haydon3
1Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia. anson.koehler@unimelb.edu.au.
Background:
To date, Cryptosporidium cuniculus has been found exclusively in rabbits and humans. The present study provides the first published molecular evidence for C. cuniculus in an Australian human patient as well as a kangaroo.
Findings:
Using PCR-based sequencing of regions in the actin, 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) and small subunit of ribosomal RNA (SSU) genes, we identified a new and unique C. cuniculus genotype (akin to VbA25) from a human, and C. cuniculus genotype VbA26 from an Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) in Australia.
Conclusions:
The characterisation of these genotypes raises questions as to their potential to infect humans and/or other animals in Australia, given that C. cuniculus has been reported to cause cryptosporidiosis outbreaks in Europe.
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