Prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in wildlife populations within a watershed landscape in southeastern New York State.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in wildlife in the New York City (NYC) Watershed in southeastern New York State. A total of 6227 fecal samples were collected and evaluated from 5892 mammals (38 species), 263 birds (14 species), 2 reptiles (2 species), 8 amphibians (4 species), and 62 fish (15 species). Cryptosporidium was detected in 30 species. Of the species found positive for Cryptosporidium, 16 represented new records for this parasite-Alosa pseudoharengus, Larus delawarensis, Blarina brevicauda, Sorex cinereus, Parascalops breweri, Myotis lucifugus, Peromyscus maniculatus, Microtus pennsylvanicus, Clethrionomys gapperi, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, Marmota monax, Erethizon dorsatum, Canis latrans, Mustela erminea, Mustela vison, and Lynx rufus. Factors such as age, sex, season, and land use were evaluated to determine if there was any association with infection by this parasite. Animals were more likely to be positive for Cryptosporidium during spring and in agricultural land use.
Ziegler
Peter E
PE
Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States.
Wade
Susan E
SE
Schaaf
Stephanie L
SL
Stern
David A
DA
Nadareski
Christopher A
CA
Mohammed
Hussni O
HO
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000469:parasitology*