Study of the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in cattle farms in the Laghouat region, Southern Algeria

Abstract

The objective of the present work was to detect Cryptosporidium spp. infection in cattle farms in Laghouat, Algeria. Our study was carried out for 3 months (February, March and April 2018)and on 300 faecal samples taken from 300 cattle. For this purpose, we used the modified Ziehl–Neelsen staining technique to identify cryptosporidium spp. The parasite prevalence rate was 43.5%. The statistical analysis of the influence of certain variation factors (sex, age, type of breeding, presence of diarrhea and breed) on the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. revealed no significant effect (p˃0.05) for the breed, sex, type of breeding and deworming. However, the effect of age was very significant (p<0.01) and that of the presence of diarrhea was also significant (p<0.05). These results reflect the risk posed by Cryptosporidium spp. to cattle and to public health. This requires the implementation of a disease control and awareness program to avoid various accidents and significant economic losses. In addition, early diagnosis of the disease helps preserve animal and human health and the national economy, subsequently.