Molecular Characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) in the northwestern region of São Paulo

• Grant number: 16/12112-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2016
• End date: August 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Vasconcelos Meireles
• Grantee: Juliana Maria Nunes Batista
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cryptosporidiosis is a cosmopolitan disease caused by some species and genotypes of Cryptosporidium and represents a major challenge to public health, especially in children from zero to five years of age and immunocompromised individuals. Bats roam large perimeters for foraging and live in large colonies. This characteristic associated with the constant expansion of urban centers to areas that were previously occupied by native vegetation, increases the coexistence of these animals with humans, settling one synanthrope relationship. Therefore, there have an increased the risk of transmission of zoonosis because these animals act as reservoirs and propagators of various infectious agents. This study aims to determine the presence and perform molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in fecal samples of insectivorous bats and frugivorous most commonly found in urban areas. One hundred and fifty bat fecal samples will be collected, from different ages and sex, according to the availability of natural and artificial shelters, as well as in forest fragments in the urban area of Aracatuba - SP. Determination of parasite species or genotypes will be performed by nested polymerase chain reaction for amplification of the 18S subunit of ribosomal RNA fragments Cryptosporidium spp, and sequencing the amplified fragments.

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)

BATISTA, JULIANA MARIA N.; DE CARVALHO, CRISTIANO; PEDRO, WAGNER A.; SANTANA, BRUNA N.; CAMARGO, VINICIUS S.; FERRARI, ELIS D.; NASCIMENTO, ISABELA G.; MEIRELES, V, MARCELO. Identification of Cryptosporidium bat genotypes XVI-XVIII in bats from Brazil. Parasitology Research, v. 118, n. 7, p. 2183-2191, JUL 2019. (16/12112-6)