Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in ruminants of Lorestan province, Iran

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the important zoonotic diseases caused by an intracellular protozoan parasite called Cryptosporidium. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. infection on 1,115 ruminants, cattle, sheep and goats, in Lorestan province, Iran. Using formol–ether concentration technique and modified Ziehl–Neelsen staining method afterwards, the overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. infection in ruminants of Lorestan province was 7.17 %. Prevalence of infection was 9.07 % (39 of 430), 5.80 % (20 of 345) and 6.18 % (21 of 340) for cattle, sheep and goats respectively. There was no significant difference between contamination of all examined animals and different geographical and climatic situations (P > 0.05) and diarrhea was not directly associated with Cryptosporidium infection (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in Lorestan province was relatively low, but it should be noticed that this opportunistic parasite is zoonosis and also can make epidemics in ruminants as well as human population in suitable conditions.