Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of spp., , and in Cattle in Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China.

spp., , and are important diarrheal pathogens with a global distribution that threatens the health of humans and animals. Despite cattle being potential transmission hosts of these protozoans, the associated risks to public health have been neglected. In the present study, a total of 1155 cattle fecal samples were collected from 13 administrative regions of Heilongjiang Province. The prevalence of spp., , and were 5.5% (64/1155; 95% CI: 4.2-6.9), 3.8% (44/1155; 95% CI: 2.7-4.9), and 6.5% (75/1155; 95% CI: 5.1-7.9), respectively. Among these positive fecal samples, five species (, , , , and ), two assemblages (E and A), and eight genotypes (BEB4, BEB6, BEB8, J, I, CHS7, CHS8, and COS-I) were identified. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all eight genotypes of identified in the present study belonged to group 2. It is worth noting that some species/genotypes of these intestinal protozoans are zoonotic, suggesting a risk of zoonotic disease transmission in endemic areas. The findings expanded our understanding of the genetic composition and zoonotic potential of spp., , and in cattle in Heilongjiang Province.