Diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis in dogs and cats using the real-time polymerase chain reaction

• Grant number: 11/09614-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2011
• End date: January 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Vasconcelos Meireles
• Grantee: Camila Guariz Homem
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The infection with some species or genotypes of Cryptosporidium represents a significant risk to public health, mainly because of morbidity and mortality in children aged zero to five years old and in immunosuppressed patients. Although there are some reports of Cryptosporidium infection in dogs, cats, rodents and lagomorphs, the role of these animals in the epidemiology of human cryptosporidiosis remains uncertain, and the literature on this topic is still rather scarce. Cryptosporidium canis and Cryptosporidium felis infect humans, besides their natural hosts, respectively dogs and cats. The aim of this study is to standardize a real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for specific detection of C. canis and C. felis, respectively in dogs and cats. A total of 600 fecal samples will be collected from dogs and cats of different ages, according to availability, from center for zoonosis control, commercial breeders, pet shops, veterinary clinics and at residencies, in the cities of Jaboticabal, Araçatuba and São Paulo. Two qPCR protocols for amplification of fragments of the actin gene, that will be standardized in this research, will be used for specific detection of C. canis and C. felis.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

HOMEM, CAMILA GUARIZ; DO NASCIMENTO, ISABELA GARCIA; SANTANA, BRUNA NICOLETI; MEIRELES, MARCELO VASCONCELOS. Development of a real-time PCR assay for detection of Cryptosporidium canis in dog fecal samples. VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY- REGIONAL STUDIES AND REPORTS, v. 18, p. 5-pg., 2019-12-01. (11/09614-6, 11/08814-1)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

HOMEM, Camila Guariz. Identification of gender and species of Cryptosporidium in dogs and cats. 2016. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária. Araçatuba Araçatuba.