The prevalence and molecular characterisation of Cryptosporidium spp. in small ruminants in Zambia

Although Cryptosporidium spp. have been associated with diarrhea and mortality in sheep and goats, this is the first study to estimate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in small ruminants in Southern Africa. Between August 2003 and February 2004, a cross-sectional study with single random sampling was carried out in three Zambian provinces: Central, Southern and Lusaka province. Faecal samples from lambs and goat kids less than 3 months of age were collected and examined using the TechLab Cryptosporidium ELISA. Faecal samples of 257 animals were collected: 152 lambs on 18 farms and 105 goat kids on 13 farms. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in lambs and goat kids was 12.5% and 4.8%, respectively and 30% of the sheep and goat farms had at least one positive animal at the time of the visit. A subset of the positive samples was withheld for molecular characterisation. Based on sequences obtained after amplification of the 70 kDa heat shock protein and the Cryptosporidium 18SrRNA gene, C. parvum was identified in all but one of the animals. In this lamb C. suis was identified. The results of the present study indicate that the animal prevalence in lambs and goats kids is rather low. However, the identification of C. parvum illustrates that small ruminants might be potential reservoir for human infection in Zambia.