Evaluation of the effect of commercial prebiotics on calves infected with Cryptosporidium parvum.

• Grant number: 25/04047-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Alex Akira Nakamura
• Grantee: Maria Julia Hernandes de Freitas
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cryptosporidium is an enteric protozoan that compromises human and animal health worldwide, with a wide range of hosts and zoonotic potential. Four species are important for cattle infections: Cryptosporidium parvum, Cryptosporidium bovis, Cryptosporidium ryanae and Cryptosporidium andersoni, with C. parvum as an important agent in neonatal calf mortality, representing major economic losses associated with its occurrence. This research project aims to investigate the effect of commercial prebiotics on calves infected by C. parvum. For this purpose, 10 two-day-old dairy calves (Jersey, Holstein), parasitologically negative for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. by the Zieh-Nielsen technique, will be used. The calves will be randomized into two groups of five animals each (G1 = control and G2 = treated), according to the diet provided to be orally inoculated with C. parvum oocysts (2x104 oocysts per calf) in a single dose. The severity of C. parvum infection will be investigated by microscopy and real-time PCR after the onset of oocyst shedding, with daily collections being performed for thirty consecutive days. After oocyst counting by microscopy and real-time PCR, data will be analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test. (AU)