Prevalence and genotyping of Cryptosporidium in stool samples collected from children in Taif City (Saudi Arabia)

This study was conducted to estimate the frequency of Cryptosporidium infections in Taif (Saudi Arabia). Stool samples from children under 10 years by modified Ziehl-Neelson staining and two PCR techniques were used for genotyping experiments. The microscopic examination showed that, eleven samples were positive for presence of Cryptosporidium. With 11 of 100 samples, DNA extraction and subsequent genotyping was successful. By means of RAPD technique, the genetic similarity among the collected isolates was 55%. The 18S rRNA gene sequences confirmed that all Cryptosporidium-isolates belonged to Cryptosporidium parvum. In comparison with reference strains from different species of Cryptosporidium species from GenBank, all collected isolates belonged to Cryptosporidium hominis and C. parvum clade. The fact that only human genotypes were detected suggests that cryptosporidiosis must primarily be considered as a non zoonotic disease in Taif region.