Molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp. from animal sources in China.

Introduction Cryptosporidium spp. causes the diarrheal illness called cryptosporidiosis that may be fatal in the immunocompromised. More attention has been focused on the epidemiology and detection of Cryptosporidium in China including studies on infection in humans, animal populations and environmental water. Cryptosporidium has been an essential indicator in Standards for Drinking Water Quality (GB5749-2006) in China from 1 July 2008. Domestic animals play an active role in family life, particularly dogs and cats involving continuous close contact with humans. In China, it was reported that the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Wuhan have been recognized as ‘Pet City’, and it was estimated that there are at least 150 million pet dogs around the country [1]. It is important to raise awareness that domestic animals may harbor zoonotic parasites such as Cryptosporidium asymptomatically. Infection of Cryptosporidium in dogs and cats has been reported in some countries, including the hostadapted and zoonotic Cryptosporidium canis infected in dogs from Japan [2] and Canada [3], Cryptosporidium parvum in dogs from Germany [4] and Costa Rica [5], and in cats from other countries [4, 5]. The host-adapted and zoonotic Cryptosporidium felis has been reported in cats from USA [6] as well as a report of a mixed infection in a cat involving Cryptosporidium muris and Cryptosporidium felis [7]. However, little relative information is known about the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in domestic animals in China. This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium among the pet dogs and cats and other animals in a zoo of Shanghai, China.