Molecular Detection of Cryptosporidium in Domestic Fowl in Shahrekord, Iran

CITATION LINKS A R T I C L E I N F O Article Type Original Research Authors Maryam Karimi-Dehkordi, PhD1 Majid Gholami-Ahangaran, PhD1* Akram Ghahramani-Chermahini, MSc2 How to cite this article Karimi Dehkordi M., Gholami-Ahangaran M., Ghahremani-Chermini A. Molecular Detection of Cryptosporidium in Domestic Fowl in Shahrekord, Iran. Infection Epidemiology and Microbiology. 1Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran. 2 Department of Food Science and Technology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. * Correspondence Address: Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran. Mgholami6@gmail.com Article History Received: October 05 ,2020 Accepted: December 25 ,2020 Published: January 23 ,2021 Background: Cryptosporidium is one of the most important pathogenic parasites in poultry because it is a zoonotic parasite, and birds and other infected animals could be a potential threat to public health. The main purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of Cryptosporidium infection in domestic fowl in Shahrekord by PCR method. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 110 fecal samples were collected from fowls referred to the Veterinary Clinic of Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch. After DNA extraction, the samples were examined by PCR, and the frequency of infection in different genders and seasons was analyzed by SPSS statistical software. Findings: Out of 110 samples, %13.64) 15) samples were positive for Cryptosporidium. The rate of Cryptosporidium infection in the females was %12.85 and in the males was %15. The results also showed that there was no statistically significant difference between two sexes (male and female) regarding the prevalence of Cryptosporidium, while the frequency of infection in cold seasons (%22.22) was significantly higher than in warm seasons (%7.69). Conclusion: Fowls could be considered as one of the important reservoirs of Cryptosporidium infection for humans. Copyright© 2021, TMU Press. This open-access article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License which permits Share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and Adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) under the Attribution-NonCommercial terms. 10.29252/iem.7.1.53