First Epidemiological Report on the Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Cryptosporidium spp. in Farmed Marine and Wild Freshwater Fish in Central and

Abstract

Purpose The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in six different fish species both from marine and freshwater environments. Methods During a period of 2 years (2018–2020), a total of 415 fecal samples and 565 intestinal scrapings were collected in seven provinces from the central and eastern Algeria. From those, 860 fish belonged to six different species, two of which are cultured marine and four are wild freshwater fish. All samples were screened for Cryptosporidium spp. presence using molecular techniques. Nested PCR approach was performed to amplify partial sequences of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) and 60-kDa glycoprotein (GP60) genes for Cryptosporidium genotyping and subtyping. Detailed statistical analysis was performed to assess the prevalence variation of Cryptosporidium infection according to different risk …