Prevalence of Prevalence of Cryptosporidium Cryptosporidium infection in cattle from South Western infection in cattle from South Western Nigeria Nigeria

This study investigates the prevalence of Cryptosporidium sp. infection in Oyo state, south western Nigeria. Fecal specimens from 406 cattle were randomly collected and examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts using the formol ethyl ether concentration and the modifi ed Kinyoun acid-fast staining method. The results showed that the overall prevalence of infection was 23.4% (95/406), with an infection rate of 27.4%, 28.1% and 19.9% in cattle less than 6 months, 7-12 months and over 12 months respectively. Although no signifi cant difference (P>0.05) exists between the age groups, calves less than 6 months of age are more likely to be infected than adults (OR: 1.512; 95%CI: 0.849-2.709). A signifi cant difference (P<0.0001) also existed between the infection rates in female and male cattle, with the female cattle being twice as likely to be infected (OR: 2.847; 95%CI: 1.755-4.618). The infection rate was 84.2% (80/95) in non-diarrheic cattle and 15.8% (15/95) in the diarrheic ones. No signifi cant association was observed between diarrhea and the presence of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts (P = 0.9468; OR: 0.979; 95%CI: 0.522-1.636). The results indicate that Cryptosporidium sp. infection is prevalent in Nigeria, especially in asymptomatic cattle that could serve as reservoirs for the zoonotic infection in humans.