Genetic diversity of isolates from young children and livestock in eastern Ethiopia.

Cryptosporidiosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoea during early childhood in low-income countries, including Ethiopia. Human infections can be anthroponotically or zoonotically transmitted. This study assesses the diversity and frequency of species and genotypes circulating in children and young livestock in eastern Ethiopia, with the aim of tracing the sources of infection. isolates from young children ( = 152), calves ( = 8), lambs ( = 4), goat kids ( = 4), and camels ( = 11) were subjected to PCR targeting the SSU rRNA and loci. Species and subtypes were determined by Sanger sequencing. Two species were found in children: (75.3%, 67/89) and (24.7%, 22/89). Three subtype families, Ia (30.0%, 9/30), Ib (10.0%, 3/30), and Id (60.0%, 18/30), were identified within whereas subtype families IIe (55.6%, 10/18) and IIc (44.4%, 8/18) were identified within . The predominant subtypes were IdA15 and IIeA10G1. Among livestock, was found in two camels and a goat kid, in a lamb and goat kid, and in a calf. We did not identify any among the animal samples. The goat isolate of was characterised as subtype XXIIIg. Human cryptosporidiosis cases in eastern Ethiopia are primarily caused by anthroponotically transmitted species and subtypes, whereas zoonotic transmission events seem infrequent.