Cryptosporidiosis: Its Importance and Diagnostic Techniques in Farm Animals

It is not strange to see animals suffering from diarrhea. But what is really strange and challenge is identifying the exact cause of that diarrhea with appropriate diagnostic methods and attaching the patient with the corresponding treatment. Wide varieties of etiologies are incriminated as a cause of diarrhea in different animals. Consequently, to identify which causative agent causes this diarrhea, special type of diagnostic methods are required. Veterinarians must give special attention for the cryptosporidial infection since cryptosporidial oocysts are directly infective when shed in the faeces and also caution must be given to avoid accidental infection seeing as it is a zoonotic disease. Cryptosporidiosis is an intracellular protozoal disease that cause diarrhea in neonatal animals. But can infect adult animals which cannot exhibit sings of disease except immunocompromised patient. They can excrete oocysts that may contaminate the environment. The diagnosis of Cryptosporidium infection are usually started based on faecal flotation with Schearer's solution (saturated sucrose solution) followed by staining for the oocysts with modified Ziehl-Neelsen stains. Cryptosporidium antigen in faeces can also be detected by using enzyme- linked immunosorbent (ELISA) or immunofluorescent (IFA) assays and molecular techniques (PCR) which have been described for detection and typing of cryptosporidial genotypes/subtypes. Phase-contrast microscope and fluorescence microscope are required for auramine stain or with immunofluorescence for more rapid diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis but for developing countries like Ethiopia the more appropriate and recommended examination technique for diagnosis of Cryptosporidium is modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining method because of the cost assessments.