Cryptosporidiosis in lambs

Abstract

Cryptosporidiosis in sheep has great relevance to public health due to the constant proximity with sheep producers and possibly, sick animals. This protozoan began to receive the attention of the medical and scientific community, and in the last 20 years, there has been a rapid expansion of research involving the genus Cryptosporidium, providing knowledge of various species, genotypes and subtypes parasite. Molecular studies of isolates from different sources are animal, human and environmental. It has been widely used to further investigate its epidemiology. Able to infect many hosts and to be constantly present in the environment, humans can acquire the disease by direct contact with other people, animals to humans, and through ingestion or water use intended to direct contaminated or leisure indirectly with oocysts. Cryptosporidium parvum, C. ubiquitum and C. xiaoi, are the main agents responsible for diarrhea in lambs, and also major species that cause cryptosporidiosis in men. The high rate of naturally infected animals and susceptibility to related protozoan justify the importance of attending to the occurrence of this disease.