Jpn. J. Infect. Dis., 54 (1), 23-26, 2001

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Original Article

Prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum Infections in Weaned Piglets and Fattening Porkers in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Shinji Izumiyama, Ichiro Furukawa¹, Toshiro Kuroki¹, Shiro Yamai¹, Hiromu Sugiyama², Kenji Yagita² and Takuro Endo²*

Tsukuba Technical Center, Ikeda Scientific Co. Ltd., Oaza-Akatsuka Aza-Ushigafuchi 586-9, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0062, ¹Department of Bacteriology and Pathology, Kanagawa Prefectural Public Health Laboratory, Nakao-machi 52-2, Asahi-ku Yokohama, Kanagawa 241-0815 and ²Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan

(Received February 15, 2001. Accepted March 8, 2001)

SUMMARY: Fecal samples from 232 weaned piglets (1 and 3 months old) and 252 fattening porkers (6 months old) in 8 stock-raising farms located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, from June 1998 to June 2000 were examined to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection. Detection of oocysts was performed using the ethyl acetate fecal concentration method and immunofluorescent staining. C. parvum oocysts were identified in 77 (33.2 %) 1-3 months old weaned piglets from four farms. The odds of excreting among 1-3 months old piglets were more than 100 times greater than among 6 months old porkers (95 % confidence interval: 17-902). This strongly suggests that weaned piglets are important reservoirs of pathogenic microbes whose potential contamination of drinking water has epidemiological implications for human health.

*Corresponding author: Tel: +81-3-5285-1111, Fax: +81-3-5285-1173, E-mail: tendo@nih.go.jp

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