Griffin Avian and Exotic Veterinary Hospital, 2100 Lane Street, Kannapolis, NC 28083, USA.
Vet Parasitol. 2010 May 28;170(1-2):14-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.01.039. Epub 2010 Feb 4.
Cryptosporidiosis in squamates is well documented, but there is very limited information available on cryptosporidiosis in testudines. We describe three cases of cryptosporidiosis in tortoises with associated pathology. Two Russian tortoises (Agrionemys [Testudo] horsfieldii) and a pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri), all from separate collections, were found dead. At necropsy, two had histological evidence of intestinal cryptosporidiosis and one had gastric cryptosporidiosis. Consensus Cryptosporidium sp. PCR and sequencing was used to identify the Cryptosporidium sp. present in these three tortoises. In the juvenile Russian tortoise with gastric cryptosporidiosis, the organism had 98% homology with a previously reported sequence from an Indian star tortoise isolate. A second chelonian Cryptosporidium sp. was identified in the pancake tortoise and the second Russian tortoise. This sequence was 100% identical to a shorter gene sequence previously reported in a marginated tortoise. This is the first report coordinating pathology with Cryptosporidium characterization in chelonians. The two Cryptosporidium sp. found in tortoises segregate according to site of infection, and there may be further differences in pathology, host range, and transmission. These Cryptosporidium sp. appear to be able to infect diverse tortoise host species. This may be an under-recognized problem in tortoises.
爬行动物中的隐孢子虫病已有大量文献记载，但关于龟鳖类隐孢子虫病的信息却非常有限。我们描述了三只患有隐孢子虫病的龟鳖类动物的病例，并附有相关的病理学信息。两只俄罗斯陆龟（Agrionemys [Testudo] horsfieldii）和一只饼干陆龟（Malacochersus tornieri），均来自不同的收藏，被发现死亡。尸检时，其中两只出现了肠道隐孢子虫病的组织学证据，而另一只则出现了胃隐孢子虫病。采用共识隐孢子虫 PCR 和测序技术来鉴定这三只龟鳖类动物中的隐孢子虫种类。在患有胃隐孢子虫病的幼年俄罗斯陆龟中，该生物体与之前从印度星龟分离株中报道的序列有 98%的同源性。在饼干陆龟和第二只俄罗斯陆龟中发现了第二种龟鳖类隐孢子虫。该序列与之前在缘翘陆龟中报道的较短基因序列完全一致。这是首次将病理学与龟鳖类隐孢子虫特征相结合的报告。在龟鳖类动物中发现的两种隐孢子虫根据感染部位进行分类，其在病理学、宿主范围和传播方式上可能存在进一步的差异。这些隐孢子虫似乎能够感染多种不同的龟鳖类宿主物种。这可能是龟鳖类动物中一个被低估的问题。
