key: cord-1029264-h2xxe2th
authors: Takaki, Youki; Takami, Yoshinori; Watanabe, Takehiro; Nakaya, Takaaki; Murakoshi, Fumi
title: Molecular identification of Cryptosporidium isolates from ill exotic pet animals in Japan including a new subtype in Cryptosporidium fayeri
date: 2020-06-30
journal: Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports
DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2020.100430
sha: c96f37b32add12c9691d28238c67734d630fe6a3
doc_id: 1029264
cord_uid: h2xxe2th

Abstract Cryptosporidium is an obligate intracellular parasite which can cause fatal diarrheal disease in exotic animals. Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), hedgehogs (Atelerix albiventris), chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera), and common leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are popular exotic animals commonly sold in pet shops in Japan. We herein investigated the species and subtypes of Cryptosporidium in these animals. Cryptosporidium fayeri was detected in a sugar glider in a Japanese animal hospital. Sequence analyses of the 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene revealed that C. fayeri belonged to subtype family IVh (IVhA13G2T1), which was proposed to be a new subtype. This is the first study to report C. fayeri infection in a sugar glider. In other animals, the Cryptosporidium horse genotype, C. ubiquitum, and C. varanii were detected in two four-toed hedgehogs (A. albiventris), a chinchilla (C. lanigera), and common leopard gecko (E. macularius), respectively. The gp60 subtypes identified were VIbA13 of the horse genotype and XIId of C. ubiquitum. The present results revealed that potentially zoonotic Cryptosporidium is widespread in exotic animals in Japan.

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that causes severe diarrhea and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, and various vertebrates (Fayer, 2010) . Cryptosporidiosis in exotic animals is sometimes fatal in young animals and, thus, causes economic losses to pet shops and breeders (Dellarupe et al., 2016) . Therefore, the impact of infections caused by Cryptosporidium spp. and their zoonotic potential are of importance.

Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), hedgehogs (Atelerix albiventris), chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera), and common leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are exotic animals commonly sold in pet shops in Japan. The sugar glider is a mammal that is classified as a marsupial and belongs to the order Diprotodontia. They are omnivorous, live on trees, and form a flock of females and one male. Cryptosporidium fayeri has been detected in marsupials, including eastern grey kangaroos, yellow-footed rock wallabies, western-barred bandicoots, and koalas , which generally live on the ground, except for koalas. C. fayeri is typically asymptomatic in adult animals (Power et al., 2005) ; although the pathogenicity of C. fayeri is currently remains unclear because of the difficulties associated with conducting wild animal surveys. C. fayeri infection has been reported in immunocompetent humans and causes prolonged gastrointestinal illness (Waldron et al., 2010).

In the present study, Cryptosporidium fayeri was detected in the sugar glider with diarrhea, and it was identified at the subtype levels using molecular techniques.

Cryptosporidium spp. were also found in two hedgehogs, a common leopard gecko, and chinchilla that exhibited similar digestive symptoms to the sugar glider, and these isolates were also molecularly identified. The results of the present study provide epidemic information on cryptosporidiosis in exotic animals in Japan.

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Eleven exotic animals (two sugar gliders, four hedgehogs, two chinchillas, and three common leopard geckos) that were brought to the hospital between August and December 2017 were examined in the present study. Details on these animals are shown in Table 1 . Table 1 (Table 3) .

Since the sugar glider in this survey was bred and sold at the same pet shop, we assumed that the pathogen was brought in with the infected animal (it may have originated from other sugar gliders) and spread among animals in the pet shop. In Japan, sugar gliders are mainly imported from the Republic of Indonesia and Thailand;

however, there was no information on the origin of the sugar glider examined in the present study. The clinical symptoms of C. fayeri currently remain unclear. A previous study reported that adult eastern grey kangaroos shed oocysts, but remained asymptomatic (Power et al., 2005) . In the present study, the 3-month-old sugar glider presented with diarrhea and weight loss. It tested positive for C. fayeri and negative for C. perfringens, Salmonella spp., and Giardia spp. The symptoms of diarrhea in this animal may have been caused by other pathogens, but suggest that C. fayeri causes digestive dysfunction symptoms in young sugar gliders. In a previous study, immunocompetent humans who had contact with marsupials were infected by C. fayeri In the present study, the Cryptosporidium horse genotype was detected in a hedgehog. . Isolates from the hedgehog were placed into the subtype VIb family (VIbA13), which is the same subtype reported in the present study. However, the clinical symptoms of the hedgehog in that study were not described. In the present study, the hedgehog had a hernia, and we found inflammation of the cranial intestine from the serosa during proctopexy. Hence, this pathogen may cause severe digestive symptoms in hedgehogs. While this species of pathogen is mainly detected in foals and calves ☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:

J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Figure 1 

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