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Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum in calf faeces using microscopical, serological, and molecular methods.

Research Authors
Wael Felefel, Ahmed Abdel-Rady, Ibrahim Abd El-Rahim, Mohamed Morsi Elkamshishi, Walaa Mostafa
Research Abstract
Cryptosporidiosis is a critical gastrointestinal disease in calves. This study examined 150 fecal samples of diarrheic calves collected from the eastern region of Saudi Arabia for detection of Cryptosporidium parvum using the Modified Ziehl-Neelsen (MZN) method, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), and conventional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The performance of these methods was assessed using diagnostic accuracy
tests. The present study identified C. parvum oocysts in fecal samples by modified Ziehl Neelsen 40/150; 26.66%, ELIZA 60/150; 40%, and PCR 78/150; 52% methods, respectively. The microscopic method revealed higher specificity 65.27% than the ELIZA 51.38%, while the ELIZA showed higher sensitivity 32.05% than MZN method 19.23%. However, MZN and ELIZA methods were unsatisfactory diagnostic tools compared with the PCR as the area under the curve values in Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analysis were less than 0.6. Furthermore, using the kappa analysis test revealed no agreement between MZN and ELISA methods compared with PCR at P<0.05.

 

Research Date
Research Department
Research Journal
Iraqi journal of Veterinary Sciences,
Research Member
Research Vol
37
Research Website
DOI: 10.33899/ijvs.2022.134661.2390
Research Year
2023
Research Pages
383-389