Prevalence of , and spp. in diarrhoeic suckling calves from north-western Spain and analysis of their interactions.

Although , and some species are frequently involved in neonatal calf diarrhoea (NCD), detailed studies on their interactions are scarce. Therefore, a cross-sectional study including faecal samples from 404 diarrhoeic calves aged 0-30 days was performed. oocysts and cysts were detected by immunofluorescence antibody test and positive samples were molecularly characterized. oocysts were microscopically detected using the modified McMaster technique and morphometric species identification was performed. infections (53.7%) predominated over those by (12.4%) and spp. (6.9%). Three species were identified: (98.0%), (1.0%) and (1.0%). Eleven zoonotic subtypes were detected, with IIaA15G2R1 as the most common; only . assemblage E was identified. Moreover, 10 species were found, being (96.4%), (85.7%), and (71.4%) predominant. A significant positive association between and spp. was detected as well as a negative association between and spp. Our results showed that wasprevalent in diarrhoeic calves under 21 days of life; spp. and were especially common in animals in their fourth week of life. Concurrent infections increased with age. Moreover, the study also revealed potential public health risks since a noticeable percentage of animals were infected with zoonotic subtypes. Further studies are needed for determining the role of these parasites in co-infections with other enteropathogens and their implications in the pathogenicity of NCD.