Cryptosporidium species in ducks: parasitological, serological and molecular studies in Egypt

The present work was initiated to study the incidence, morphology and molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp. infecting ducks. Incidence of Cryptosporidium spp. in ducks was 39.9 % (365 out of 915 ducks). Seasonal incidence showed that the highest rate was in winter (74.6%) while the lowest one was in autumn (7.1%). Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts were spherical to ovoid in shape with smooth wall. It contains 4 sporozoites and a residium. Comparative study between M.Z.N. and ELISA showed that examination of the bursal and intestinal contents of each of 100 Muscovy ducks by M.Z.N. stain revealed that 33% and 28% were Cryptosporidium spp. positive respectively. While ELISA showed that 55% of these ducks had antibodies against Cryptosporidium species. Immunoblotting of Cryptosporidium spp. antigens of ducks revealed that the bands at the MW 68, 3842, 20 and that lower than 15 KDa considered to be specific as they react versus Cryptosporidium positive duck serum only. Analysis of the PCR products of Cryptosporidium spp. from ducks revealed that the positive amplification of the target fragment was 435bp for ducks. Sequencing of the PCR products revealed that the investigated species was C. meleagridis in ducks (the accesion number in gene bank was KM581271).