Genomic detection and study of the frequency of cryptosporidium infec-tion in pigeons, in Isfahan

Cryptosporidiosis is an important parasitic disease in livestock, poultry and humans that it has great health and economic importance. Propagation of this parasite in livestock and poultry can preserve the parasite cycle in the environment. Therefore, disease control in this host is associated with reducing the load of Cryptosporidium in environmental and ultimately disease control in humans. For detection of Cryptosporidium in pigeons, 100 domestic pigeons of different genera were sampled in four different seasons at 2018. After extracting the genome from fecal samples, Cryptosporidium SS rRNA gene was detected with a special primer. In 6 samples (6%), 1325 bp fragment related to Cryptosporidium SS rRNA gene was amplified (4 female and 2 male pigeons). Statistically, there was no relationship between the sex and the incidence of infection. Studies showed that out of 6 positive samples, 5 samples were detected in the cold season and only one sample in the warm season. Data analysis shows that in cold seasons, the rate of infection is significantly higher than warm seasons (11.36% vs. 1.78%) (P <0.05). The pigeons in Isfahan are infected to Cryptosporidium and it is necessary to carry out a proper control program in these birds as one of the hosts of this protozoan. Certainly, reducing the level of infection in pigeons can reduce the environmental contamination with the common pathogen between humans and animals.