The prevalence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptosporidium</Emphasis> species in diarrhoeic lambs in Kars province and potential risk factors

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in diarrhoeic lambs and investigate some risk factors in Kars province (Northeastern region of Anatolia) in Turkey. Four hundred faecal samples were taken from the rectums of clinically diarrhoeic and aged to 1-month-old lambs from 34 sheep farms in 20 villages in March-April 2007 and examined by using the modified acid-fast staining technique. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium species was found as 38.8% (155/400). Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in 90.0% (18/20) of villages and in 76.5% (26/34) of the sheep farms. Infection rates were detected as: 44.4% (67/151) in 1-week-old lambs, 37.5% (39/104) in 2-week-old lambs, 40.0% (38/95) in 3-week-old lambs, and 22.0% (11/50) in 4-week-old lambs. Farms classified according to their zoohygienic conditions and fine, average and bad conditioned farms were contaminated with Cryptosporidium with the percentages of 14.7%, 20.6% and 41.2%, respectively. Clinical cryptosporidiosis was determined in 35.0% of the villages (7/20) and in 29.4% of the sheep farms (10/34), Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in 81.3% of the lambs (91/112) in these farms. Cryptosporidiosis may be a major epidemiological significance in lambs in Kars province, and suggests that naturally infected lambs may be reservoirs of Cryptosporidiosis infections for calves even for humans too.