Occurrence of cryptosporidia in exotic mammals kept in zoological gardens

A total of 331 faecal samples of 102 exotic mammalian species were collected in four zoological gardens in the Czech Republic and examined for Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts by staining method, immunofluorescent assay for detection of cryptosporidia and PCR of the SSU rRNA loci. In this study, the prevalence of these parasites was found to be low. Cryptosporidium sp. was found only in a reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata). Sequence analysis identified our isolate with C. muris genotype previously found in rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) and bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus). Our Cryptosporidium isolate was not infectious for neonatal and adult mice BALB/c