Prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia species infections among children and calves in Chattogram, Bangladesh

Abstract

Cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are parasitic diseases that may significantly affect human and animal populations, notably cattle and goats. The zoonotic potential and modes of transmission of these diseases have been the subject of several epidemiological studies. We collected a total of 437 fecal specimens to determine the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis among human and animal populations in Bangladesh. Hence, 200 fecal samples from symptomatic children and 237 samples from calves were gathered from healthcare facilities and cattle farms in the Chattogram metropolitan area. To identify Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts, we employed a modified Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast staining protocol (Z-N stain) for Cryptosporidium and Trichrome staining for Giardia, followed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with partial amplification of SSU and tpi gene, respectively. Based on the findings of the modified Z-N stain, the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection was determined to be 13.5% among hospitalized children with diarrhea, whereas infected calves exhibited the prevalence of 23.63%. However, the SSU gene-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method revealed that the frequency of Cryptosporidium infection was 9.5% among hospitalized children with diarrhea and 19.41% among infected calves. Furthermore, Trichrome staining techniques indicated that the occurrence of Giardia in children and calves was 9.5% and 19.41%, respectively. The results obtained from tpi gene-based PCR analysis revealed a prevalence rate of 9% for Giardia infection in children and 10.55% in calves. The findings from this study can be used as baseline for other researchers to perform extensive research on cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis in both human and animal populations.