title: First survey of Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Enterocytozoon in diarrhoeic children from Wuhan, China.
abstract: Intestinal protozoan pathogens cause significant diarrhoeal diseases in children. However, to date, there has been limited genetic study of the intestinal pathogens Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Enterocytozoon in humans in China, with the exception of research in a small number of cities/provinces. In the present study, PCR-based tools were used to detect and characterise these protistan parasites from 500 children with a history of diarrhoea in Wuhan and environs, Hubei province, China. Genomic DNAs from faecal samples were screened for the particular protists by PCR utilising regions in the small subunit (SSU) of the nuclear ribosomal RNA, the 60kDa glycoprotein (gp60), the internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS) and/or the triose phosphate isomerase (tpi) genes as markers. Cryptosporidium meleagridis subtype IIIb (10/500, 2.0%), Giardia duodenalis assemblage A (7/500, 1.4%) and Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotype D (1/500, 0.2%) were identified in small percentages of the 500 samples. No significant gender- or age-associated differences in the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections were found. Future studies might focus on the occurrence of these protists in children as well as animals, with an emphasis on Cryptosporidium meleagridis in pets and agriculturally important birds, in different parts of Hubei province.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Anson V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Koehler
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Guangxu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, China; Outpatient Department, Wuhan Women and Children's Health Care Center, Wuhan, Hubei 430016, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: robinbg@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Robin B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Gasser
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D021862:Enterocytozoon / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D005872:Giardia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016881:Microsporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D016053:RNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics*; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D016053:RNA, Protozoan; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal
keywords: China; Cryptosporidium; Enterocytozoon; Giardia; Human; PCR-based analyses; Sequencing