Zuo Qingqiu, Weng Xiaodong, Wang Xu, Liu Hua, Di Mingxiao, Zhang Xiaocheng, Zhou Bo, Xue Chuizhao, Lu Ping, Peng Xiaoxue, Shen Yujuan, Cao Jianping
National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, PR China.
Institute of Biological Resources, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, PR China.
Parasite. 2025;32:63. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2025056. Epub 2025 Sep 25.
Cryptosporidium spp. are zoonotic protozoan parasites that cause diarrheal disease worldwide. Rodents can harbor diverse Cryptosporidium spp. and facilitate their transmission to the environment and other hosts, including humans. However, data on Cryptosporidium infection in wild rodents in the Poyang Lake region, China's largest freshwater lake, remain scarce. Here, we investigated Cryptosporidium spp. in 273 wild rodents collected from seven sites adjacent to villages around Poyang Lake between 2022 and 2024. The rodents were identified by cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequencing as Apodemus agrarius (n = 148) and Rattus losea (n = 125). Nested PCR targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene revealed an overall Cryptosporidium spp. infection rate of 16.5% (45/273, 95% CI: 12.3-21.9%), with 20.3% (30/148, 95% CI: 14.2-27.8%) in A. agrarius and 12.0% (15/125, 95% CI: 6.9-19.0%) in R. losea. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses identified seven Cryptosporidium species/genotypes: C. apodemi, C. canis, C. muris, C. suis, C. ubiquitum, rat genotype II, and rat genotype III. Notably, the detection of four zoonotic species (C. canis, C. muris, C. suis, and C. ubiquitum) highlights the potential risk of zoonotic transmission of Cryptosporidium spp. from wild rodents to humans in this region. These findings underscore the need for systematic surveillance and control of Cryptosporidium spp. in wild rodent communities around Poyang Lake.
隐孢子虫属是一种人畜共患的原生动物寄生虫，可在全球范围内引发腹泻疾病。啮齿动物可携带多种隐孢子虫属，并促使其传播至环境以及包括人类在内的其他宿主。然而，在中国最大的淡水湖——鄱阳湖地区，关于野生啮齿动物隐孢子虫感染情况的数据仍然匮乏。在此，我们调查了2022年至2024年间从鄱阳湖周边七个临近村庄的地点收集的273只野生啮齿动物中的隐孢子虫属。通过细胞色素c氧化酶亚基I（COI）基因测序，这些啮齿动物被鉴定为黑线姬鼠（n = 148）和黄毛鼠（n = 125）。针对小亚基核糖体RNA（SSU rRNA）基因的巢式PCR显示，隐孢子虫属的总体感染率为16.5%（45/273，95%置信区间：12.3 - 21.9%），其中黑线姬鼠的感染率为20.3%（30/148，95%置信区间：14.2 - 2,78%），黄毛鼠的感染率为12.0%（15/125，95%置信区间：6.9 - 19.0%）。序列和系统发育分析确定了七种隐孢子虫物种/基因型：姬鼠隐孢子虫、犬隐孢子虫、鼠隐孢子虫、猪隐孢子虫、泛在隐孢子虫、大鼠基因型II和大鼠基因型III。值得注意的是，四种人畜共患物种（犬隐孢子虫、鼠隐孢子虫、猪隐孢子虫和泛在隐孢子虫） 的检测结果凸显了该地区野生啮齿动物的隐孢子虫属向人类进行人畜共患传播的潜在风险。这些发现强调了对鄱阳湖周边野生啮齿动物群落中的隐孢子虫属进行系统监测和控制的必要性。
