Hailu Maireg, Asmare Kassahun, Gebremedhin Endrias Zewdu, Sheferaw Desie, Gizaw Daniel, Di Marco Vincenzo, Vitale Maria
MoLSD, Sidama Zone, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
American University of Beirut, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon.
Parasite Epidemiol Control. 2020 May 11;10:e00155. doi: 10.1016/j.parepi.2020.e00155. eCollection 2020 Aug.
and are the most common enteric protozoan parasites causing diarrhea in humans and animals worldwide. This study was conducted with the objectives of estimating prevalence and identifying risk factors for and infections in dairy calves in selected districts of southern Ethiopia. Fecal samples ( = 330) were collected from calves in 92 farms. The monoclonal antibody-based commercial direct immunofluorescent kit was used to test the samples for oocysts and cysts. A questionnaire survey was also administered to collect data on potential risk factors of infections. The results showed a farm-level prevalence of 69.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 59.1-78.7%) for and 38.04% (95% CI: 28.1-48.8%) for . Likewise, an overall animal level prevalence of 13.0% (95% CI: 9.6-17.2%) for and 9.7% (95% CI: 6.7-13.4%) for was found. At the farm level, multivariate logistic regression model showed that calves in smallholder farms were 5.3 times more likely to shed oocysts than calves in commercial farms (=0.019). However, in case of , calves in commercial farms were 5.5 times more likely to shed cysts than calves in smallholder farms (=0.037). Calves with diarrhea were nearly three times more likely to be positive for oocysts than those with normal feces (=0.027). At the animal level, larger farms and younger calves were associated with cysts shedding, while larger herd size and lose fecal consistency were associated with oocysts shedding. and infection are endemic in the studied dairy farms. Therefore, detailed molecular epidemiological studies are essential to identify the role of domestic animals in the transmission of infections to humans and vice versa, and to determine the best options for prevention and control of cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis.
隐孢子虫和贾第虫是全球范围内导致人类和动物腹泻的最常见肠道原生动物寄生虫。本研究旨在估计埃塞俄比亚南部选定地区奶牛犊中隐孢子虫和贾第虫感染的流行率并确定其风险因素。从92个农场的犊牛中采集了粪便样本（n = 330）。使用基于单克隆抗体的商业直接免疫荧光试剂盒检测样本中的隐孢子虫卵囊和贾第虫包囊。还进行了问卷调查以收集感染潜在风险因素的数据。结果显示，农场层面隐孢子虫的流行率为69.6%（95%置信区间[CI]：59.1 - 78.7%），贾第虫为38.04%（95%CI：28.1 - 48.8%）。同样，动物层面隐孢子虫的总体流行率为13.0%（95%CI：9.6 - 17.2%），贾第虫为9.7%（95%CI：6.7 - 13.4%）。在农场层面，多变量逻辑回归模型显示，小农户农场的犊牛排出隐孢子虫卵囊的可能性比商业农场的犊牛高5.3倍（P = 0.019）。然而，对于贾第虫，商业农场的犊牛排出包囊的可能性比小农户农场的犊牛高5.5倍（P = 0.037）。腹泻犊牛排出隐孢子虫卵囊呈阳性的可能性比粪便正常的犊牛高近3倍（P = 0.027）。在动物层面，较大的农场和较年轻的犊牛与贾第虫包囊排出有关，而较大的畜群规模和较稀的粪便稠度与隐孢子虫卵囊排出有关。隐孢子虫和贾第虫感染在所研究的奶牛场中呈地方流行。因此，详细的分子流行病学研究对于确定家畜在感染传播给人类以及反之亦然过程中的作用，以及确定预防和控制隐孢子虫病和贾第虫病的最佳方案至关重要。
