Improved methods for detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in environmental and clinical samples are urgently needed to improve detection of cryptosporidiosis. We compared the sensitivity of 7 PCR primer sets for detection of Cryptosporidium parvum. Each target gene was amplified by PCR or nested PCR with serially diluted DNA extracted from purified C. parvum oocysts. The target genes included Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein (COWP), small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA), and random amplified polymorphic DNA. The detection limit of the PCR method ranged from 103 to 104 oocysts, and the nested PCR method was able to detect 100 to 102 oocysts. A second-round amplification of target genes showed that the nested primer set specific for the COWP gene proved to be the most sensitive one compared to the other primer sets tested in this study and would therefore be useful for the detection of C. parvum.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Occurrence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium oocysts in chickens from Egypt, and a meta-analysis for Cryptosporidium infections in chickens worldwide Ahmed Essam, Bassem Elmishmishy, Enas Hammad, Salah Abu Elwafa, Ibrahim Abbas Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports.2025; 57: 101169. CrossRef
Evaluating the role of synanthropic filth flies in the transmission of zoonotic parasites: field and laboratory evidence from different animal rearing sites in upper Egypt with focus on Cryptosporidium spp. Omaima Ragab AbdAllah, Refaat M. Gabre, Sara Abdelaal Mohammed, Ahmed Mohamed Korayem, Hala E. Hussein, Alzahraa Abdelraouf Ahmad BMC Veterinary Research.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Chemical profiling of Verbena officinalis and assessment of its anti-cryptosporidial activity in experimentally infected immunocompromised mice Eman S. El-Wakil, Maha A.M. El-Shazly, Ayman M. El-Ashkar, Tarek Aboushousha, Mosad A. Ghareeb Arabian Journal of Chemistry.2022; 15(7): 103945. CrossRef
Anti-cryptosporidial activity of Camellia sinensis (green tea extract) in experimentally infected immunocompromised mice Eman S. El-Wakil, Eman Ali Mohamed, Eman Ahmed El-Wakil, Tarek S. AbouShousha, Neimat Mousa Amer Acta Protozoologica.2022; 61: 23. CrossRef
Detection and Molecular Identification of Cryptosporidium Species Among Children with Malignancies Heba Said Ibrahim, Amel Youssef Shehab, Amal Farahat Allam, Mostafa Aboelhoda Mohamed, Hoda Fahmy Farag, Mona Mohamed Tolba Acta Parasitologica.2021; 66(2): 377. CrossRef
Competency Assessment: Diagnostic Methods for Detection of Cryptosporidium, Microsporidia, and Toxoplasma in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Samples Zahra Eslamirad, Abdolatif Moini, Mojtaba Didehdar, Reza Hajihossein, Ali Arash Anoushiravani Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Molecular epidemiology of Cryptosporidium spp. in an agricultural area of northern Vietnam: A community survey Hanako Iwashita, Taichiro Takemura, Asako Tokizawa, Tetsuhiro Sugamoto, Vu Dinh Thiem, Tuan Hai Nguyen, Tho Duc Pham, Anh Hong Quynh Pham, Hang Thi Doan, Na Ly Tran, Tetsu Yamashiro Parasitology International.2021; 83: 102341. CrossRef
Genotype and subtype analyses of Cryptosporidium isolate from humans by gp60 PCR-RLFP in Zabol, Southeast of Iran Mansour Dabirzadeh, Habibeh Mohammadian, Hakim Azizi, Mahdi Khoshsima Shahreki Modern Medical Laboratory Journal.2021; 4(1): 5. CrossRef
In vitro and in vivo anti-Cryptosporidium and anti-inflammatory effects of Aloe vera gel in dexamethasone immunosuppressed mice Alyaa Farid, Aya Tawfik, Basil Elsioufy, Gehan Safwat International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance.2021; 17: 156. CrossRef
Prevalence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium species in poultry in Bangladesh Mohammad Hazzaz Bin Kabir, Yongmei Han, Seung-Hun Lee, Arifin Budiman Nugraha, Frances Recuenco, Fumi Murakoshi, Xuenan Xuan, Kentaro Kato One Health.2020; 9: 100122. CrossRef
Determination of the Microbial and Chemical Loads in Rivers from the Quito Capital Province of Ecuador (Pichincha)—A Preliminary Analysis of Microbial and Chemical Quality of the Main Rivers Pamela Borja-Serrano, Valeria Ochoa-Herrera, Laurence Maurice, Gabriela Morales, Cristian Quilumbaqui, Eduardo Tejera, António Machado International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2020; 17(14): 5048. CrossRef
The Detection Limit of PCR Amplification for Cryptosporidium spp. Oocysts in Fecal Samples Harith Saeed Al-Warid, Ihsan M. Al-Saqur, Souhaila H. Mahmood National Academy Science Letters.2019; 42(5): 423. CrossRef
Molecular characterization of zoonotic Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis pathogens in Algerian sheep Lynda Sahraoui, Myriam Thomas, Aurélie Chevillot, Mohamed Mammeri, Bruno Polack, Isabelle Vallée, Jérôme Follet, Hacina Ain-Baaziz, Karim Tarik Adjou Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports.2019; 16: 100280. CrossRef
Genetic Study of Cryptosporidium with SSU-rRNA in Children Younger Than Ten Referring to Hospitals of Zabol, Southeast of Iran Habibeh Mohammadian, Hekim Azizi, Mansour Dabirzadeh Shiraz E-Medical Journal.2019;[Epub] CrossRef
Molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium isolates from diarrheal dairy calves in France Mohamed Mammeri, Aurélie Chevillot, Ilham Chenafi, Myriam Thomas, Christine Julien, Isabelle Vallée, Bruno Polack, Jérôme Follet, Karim Tarik Adjou Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports.2019; 18: 100323. CrossRef
Molecular Prevalence and Genotypes of Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia duodenalis in Patients with Acute Diarrhea in Korea, 2013-2016 Da-Won Ma, Myoung-Ro Lee, Sung-Hee Hong, Shin-Hyeong Cho, Sang-Eun Lee The Korean Journal of Parasitology.2019; 57(5): 531. CrossRef
Monitoring of Noxious Protozoa for Management of Natural Water Resources Young Yil Bahk, Pyo Yun Cho, Sung Kyu Ahn, Sangjung Park, Won Hwa Jheong, Yun-Kyu Park, Ho-Joon Shin, Sang-Seob Lee, Okjae Rhee, Tong-Soo Kim The Korean Journal of Parasitology.2018; 56(2): 205. CrossRef
Intestinal Cryptosporidiosis in Renal Transplant Recipients: Prevalence, Species Detection and Comparative Evaluation of SSU rRNA and Cryptosporidium Oocyst Wall Protein Genes Ujjala Ghoshal, Prabhat Ranjan, Asmita Dey, Uday Chand Ghoshal Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology.2018; 36(2): 247. CrossRef
Checking the detail in retail: Occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia on vegetables sold across different counters in Chandigarh, India Kjersti Selstad Utaaker, Anil Kumar, Himanshu Joshi, Suman Chaudhary, Lucy J. Robertson International Journal of Food Microbiology.2017; 263: 1. CrossRef
RT-PCR specific for Cryspovirus is a highly sensitive method for detecting Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts Mark Jenkins, Celia O'Brien, Raymond Fetterer, Monica Santin Food and Waterborne Parasitology.2016; 5: 14. CrossRef
Molecular detection and characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. among breeding cattery cats in Japan Yoichi Ito, Naoyuki Itoh, Yuya Kimura, Kazutaka Kanai Parasitology Research.2016; 115(5): 2121. CrossRef
Multiplex-Touchdown PCR to Simultaneously Detect Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, and Cyclospora cayetanensis, the Major Causes of Traveler’s Diarrhea Ji-Hun Shin, Sang-Eun Lee, Tong Soo Kim, Da-Won Ma, Jong-Yil Chai, Eun-Hee Shin The Korean Journal of Parasitology.2016; 54(5): 631. CrossRef
Survey for protozoan parasites in Eastern oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ) from the Gulf of Maine using PCR-based assays Nicholas D. Marquis, Nicholas R. Record, José A. Fernández Robledo Parasitology International.2015; 64(5): 299. CrossRef
Cryptosporidium species and subtype analysis in diarrhoeic pre-weaned lambs and goat kids from north-western Spain Pablo Díaz, Joaquín Quílez, Alberto Prieto, Esther Navarro, Ana Pérez-Creo, Gonzalo Fernández, Rosario Panadero, Ceferino López, Pablo Díez-Baños, Patrocinio Morrondo Parasitology Research.2015; 114(11): 4099. CrossRef
A Comparison of Nested PCR Assay with Conventional Techniques for Diagnosis of Intestinal Cryptosporidiosis in AIDS Cases from Northern India Beena Uppal, Ompal Singh, Sanjim Chadha, Arun Kumar Jha Journal of Parasitology Research.2014; 2014: 1. CrossRef
Polymerase chain reaction and nested-PCR approaches for detecting Cryptosporidium in water catchments of water treatment plants in Curitiba, State of Paraná, Brazil Silvia Cristina Osaki, Vanete Thomaz Soccol, Adriana Oliveira Costa, Marcia Benedita Oliveira-Silva, Juliana Tracz Pereira, Antonio Eduardo Procopio Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical.2013; 46(3): 270. CrossRef
Evaluation of an immunochromatographic dip strip test for simultaneous detection of Cryptosporidium spp, Giardia duodenalis, and Entamoeba histolytica antigens in human faecal samples P. Goñi, B. Martín, M. Villacampa, A. García, C. Seral, F. J. Castillo, A. Clavel European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.2012; 31(8): 2077. CrossRef
Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis in human patients in Cairo, Egypt Nour M. Abd El Kader, María-Alejandra Blanco, Marwa Ali-Tammam, Abd El Rahman B. Abd El Ghaffar, Ahmed Osman, Nabila El Sheikh, José Miguel Rubio, Isabel de Fuentes Parasitology Research.2012; 110(1): 161. CrossRef
Epidemiology and Molecular Relationships of Cryptosporidium spp. in People, Primates, and Livestock from Western Uganda Stephanie J. Salyer, Thomas R. Gillespie, Innocent B. Rwego, Colin A. Chapman, Tony L. Goldberg, Joseph M. Vinetz PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.2012; 6(4): e1597. CrossRef
Cryptosporidiosis Jae-Ran Yu Hanyang Medical Reviews.2010; 30(3): 187. CrossRef
First
Prev
