Camilo Romero Núñez¹, Laura Reyes Clímaco¹, Rafael Heredia Cárdenas²*, Linda Guiliana Bautista Gómez³, Manuel Ricardo Sánchez Mora⁴, Ariadna Flores Ortega³ and Laura Miranda Contreras¹

¹Hospital Veterinario DERMAVET, Ciudad de México, México
²Centro Integral Veterinario, CIVET, Estado de México, México
³Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, México
⁴Universidad Pedagógica de Colombia, Colombia

*Corresponding Author: Rafael Heredia Cárdenas, Centro Integral Veterinario, CIVET, Estado de México, México

Received: January 16, 2024Published: February 24, 2024

Abstract

The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in cats varies between 1 and 74%, however, cat’s role as transmitter agent of Cryptosporidium spp. is not clear. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of Cryptosporidium spp. in domestic cats around Mexico. 614 domestic cat stools around 31 States in Mexico, were collected. Cats of all breeds, both genres, sane and ill, and of all ages were included. The samples were analyzed with the cold modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining for the detection of oocysts of Crypstosporidium spp. in stool samples. The Chi-square test was used to determine the association between the variables and Odds Ratio was applied for determining risk factors with an alpha of P ≤ 0.05. Of 614 evaluated samples, 319 (51.9%) were positive to Cryptosporidium spp. The fact of not bathing the cat was associated (Chi2 = 15.51, P = 0.001) to be positive to Cryptosporidium spp. and it was a risk factor (OR = 1.60, P = 0.003). Small size in felines was associated to the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. (Chi2 = 5.78 P = 0.05), whereas the medium-sized cats have low possibilities of presenting Cryptosporidium (OR = 0.68, P = 0.01). The kind of hair, the breed, body condition, hunting habits, access to the outside, and the consistency and findings in the stools, were not associated and were not risk factors. There exists a high prevalence (51.9%) of Cryptosporidium spp. in domestic cats around Mexico. The risk factor for the presence of the protozoan in stools was not to bathe the cat.

Keywords: Parasites; Cats; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Protozoan

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Citation

Citation: Rafael Heredia Cárdenas., et al. “Prevalence and Risk Factors for Cryptosporidium spp. In Domestic Cats Around Mexico".Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences 6.3 (2024): 72-76.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 DY Osei., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.