Molecular characterization and zoonotic potential of Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections in dogs and cats in Central Spain.

Authors

Juan P Barrera, Ana Montoya, Aida de Lucio, Pamela C Köster, Begoña Bailo, David Carmena, Guadalupe Miró

Published in

Food and waterborne parasitology. Volume 44. Pages e00351. Epub Jun 17, 2026.

Abstract

Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. are environmentally resistant protozoan parasites transmitted via the faecal-oral route, often through contaminated water or food. Although companion animals may contribute to environmental dissemination of infective stages, their role in zoonotic transmission remains debated. In this study, 75 Giardia-positive (65 dogs, 10 cats) and 20 Cryptosporidium-positive (11 dogs, 9 cats) faecal samples from central Spain were molecularly characterized at the gdh and bg loci for G. duodenalis and at the ssu rRNA and gp60 loci for Cryptosporidium spp. Host-adapted Giardia assemblages predominated, with assemblages C (33.9%) and D (47.7%) in dogs and assemblage F (50.0%) in cats, while zoonotic assemblages A and B occurred at moderate frequencies (10.8%-40.0%). Cryptosporidium canis and Cryptosporidium felis were the predominant species in dogs and cats, respectively, whereas C. parvum and C. hominis were sporadically detected. These findings expand molecular data on enteric protozoa in companion animals in Spain and highlight their potential relevance within a One Health context.

PMID:
42381722
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 01 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.