title: Prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum infection in Punjab (India) and its association with diarrhea in neonatal dairy calves.
abstract: A prevalence study was contemplated to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in dairy farms in Punjab, India. The cryptosporidium oocysts were detected from 50 and 25.68% from 80 diarrheic and 74 non-diarrheic animals, respectively. Both shedding and intensity of shedding were significant in calves with diarrhea. The Cryptosporidium spp. appears to be common in dairy calves and an important contributor of calf diarrhea in the Punjab province. The prevalence of the infection peaked in young calves between 0 and 30 days in both the diarrheic and non-diarrheic groups (86.4 and 66.6%, respectively). The percentage distribution of positive samples, with reference to age groups of diarrheic and non-diarrheic animals was negatively correlated with increase in age. High mortality rate and case fatality rate of 35.2 and 44.4% were observed in young calves between 0 and 30 days of age.
authors.affiliation: Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, Punjab, India. balbirpau@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: Balbir Bagicha
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Rajnish
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Hardeep
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Banga
authors.forename: Rabinder Singh
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Aulakh
authors.forename: Jatinder Pal Singh
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Jagdish Kamal
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000469:parasitology; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D010270:Parasite Egg Count / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012621:Seasons