Asmaa Ghafer Hussin1*, Jenan Mahmood Khalaf2, Haider Mohammed Ali3

1Ministry of Health, Baghdad, Iraq; 2Zoonotic Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq; 3Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq.

*Correspondence | Asmaa Ghafer Hussin, Ministry of Health, Baghdad, Iraq; Email: firasrashad@gmail.com

Abstract
A study was conducted to identify the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. as well as to investigate the effect of the region, age and sex on the infection rate in cattle and their breeders. A total of 288 samples (200 samples for cattle and 88 samples for their breeders) were collected during November 2014 to May 2015. Results showed a significant difference in the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in cattle (57%) and their breeders (32.95%). The effect of age on infection rate in cattle was significant (P<0.01). The highest infection rate (75.68%) was shown in the early age category (less than 1 year), while the lowest (43.47%) was found in age ≥6 years. In general, the infection rate dropped gradually with advanced age until reached the lowest estimation in the older age (≥6 years). On the other hand, the effects of region and sex were not significant. Concerning the cattle breeders all studied effects were not significant.

Keywords | Cryptosporidium spp., Cattle, Prevalence, Breeders

Editor | Asghar Ali Kamboh, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan.

Received | November 18, 2015; Revised | December 06, 2015; Accepted | December 07, 2015; Published | February 13, 2016

Citation | Hussin AG, Khalaf JM, Ali HM (2016). Factors influencing the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in cattle and their breeders. J. Anim. Health Prod. 4(2): 50-54.

ISSN | 2308–2801

Copyright © 2016 Hussin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.