Literaturdatenbank
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Richter, B., Brinkmeier, M., Schwering, C., Vrhovec, G. M., Nedorost, N., & Pantchev, N. , Gastric and intestinal cryptosporidiosis in tortoise species. Unpublished paper presented at 1. International Conference on Avian, Herpetological & Exotic Mammal Medicine.
Added by: Admin (06 Jan 2014 18:25:14 UTC) |
| Resource type: Conference Paper BibTeX citation key: Richter2013 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Einzeller - protozoa, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises, Veterinärmedizin - veterinary medicine Creators: Brinkmeier, Nedorost, Pantchev, Richter, Schwering, Vrhovec Collection: 1. International Conference on Avian, Herpetological & Exotic Mammal Medicine |
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| Abstract |
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Testudinidae Although cryptosporidiosis is well known in snakes and lizards, very little information is available on this parasitosis in tortoises, mainly consisting of single case reports and few studies, which mostly focus on faecal examinations. Two different cryptosporidia seem to be the most prevalent ones in tortoises: the recently named intestinal species Cryptosporidium ducismarci, which has been associated with clinical disease, and a poorly characterized, presumably gastric Cryptosporidium “tortoise genotype”. A histological and molecular study was performed on gastrointestinal tissue from tortoises submitted for routine pathological examination. Cryptosporidial infection of the gastric and/or small intestinal mucosa was detected in nine out of 100 tortoises from five different species using in-situ hybridization. The number of parasites ranged from very few to numerous. In five cases, the genetic analysis identified C. tortoise genotype, of which one animal showed an additional infection with C. ducismarci. Histologically, the site of infection for C. tortoise genotype could be identified as being the gastric mucosa. One sample yielded a genetic sequence identical to an unnamed gastric Cryptosporidium sp. closely related to C. tortoise genotype. No evident histological changes were consistently associated with the cryptosporidian infections. In four cases of moderate to high parasitic burden, the animals had reportedly shown loss of appetite prior to death. In three of these animals, no other obvious cause of death was found, while in six cases severe inflammatory processes (mainly bacterial infections) were found, which seemed not to be associated with the cryptosporidia. Furthermore, studies on fecal samples indicate that commercial immunoassays might not reliably detect C. tortoise genotype.
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