Cryptosporidium affects humans as well as wild and captive animals. Humans and captive animals can become infected when drinking contaminated water (and the majority of municipal water supplies do not eradicate or kill Cryptosporidium, nor do most water purification devices people attached to their faucets or main water lines). When herp keepers feed their captive herps fed wild-caught prey, they are also exposing their herps to the risk of Cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium can be relatively benign in healthy humans and animals, but can be deadly in those who are immunocompromised and otherwise considered to be at high risk for bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. Since captive herps, especially wild-caught ones, are always stressed to some degree, feeding wild-caught prey increases their risk of contracting parasites.
Aural-pharyngeal polyps associated with Cryptosporidium infection in three iguanas (Iguana iguana).
Uhl EW, Jacobson E, Bartick TE, Micinilio J, Schimdt R. Vet Pathol 2001 Mar;38(2):239-42
Cryptosporidium spp. infection was associated with aural-pharyngeal polyps in three iguanas (Iguana iguana). All iguanas were presented for masses protruding from the ear canal, and the disease was characterized by a chronic clinical course. The masses consisted of nests of cystic glands surrounded by abundant fibrous connective tissue and lined by hyperplastic cuboidal to pseudostratified columnar epithelium that was moderately to heavily colonized by cryptosporidial organisms. Electron microscopy revealed that the majority of organisms were trophozoites.
Successful hyperimmune bovine colostrum treatment of Savanna monitors (Varanus exanthematicus) infected with Cryptosporidium sp.
Graczyk TK, Cranfield MR, Bostwick EF.J Parasitol 2000 Jun;86(3):631-2
Therapy based on the protective passive immunity of hyperimmune bovine colostrum (HBC) (raised against Cryptosporidium parvum in cows) was applied to 4 Savanna monitors (Varanus exanthematicus) with gastric Cryptosporidium sp. infections. All lizards were moderately emaciated, and their fecal and gastric lavage samples contained moderate numbers of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts. The first 3 of 7 gastric HBC treatments at 1-wk interval each decreased the numbers of oocysts in the fecal and gastric samples to undetectable levels. Neither feces nor lavages of the HBC-treated lizards contained Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts after the HBC therapy, whereas such samples of a single control lizard remained positive for oocysts. Two of the HBC-treated lizards died spontaneously due to metastasized carcinoma and septicemia of unknown etiology, respectively, and 2 lizards treated and killed during the experiment were histologically negative for developmental stages of Cryptosporidium sp. The control lizard died spontaneously of septicemia of unknown etiology and contained developmental stages of Cryptosporidium sp. in the gastric region. The HBC therapy was efficacious in V. exanthematicus and is recommended for lizards with gastric cryptosporidiosis.
Cryptosporidium serpentis oocysts and microsporidian spores in feces of captive snakes.
Graczyk TK, Cranfield MR. J Parasitol 2000 Apr;86(2):413-4
Fecal smears of 90 snakes, 29 lizards, and 8 turtles and tortoises were tested for Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts and microsporidian spores. Microsporidian spores measured mean = 3.7 microm in length and mean = 2.3 microm in width and were present in feces of 19 snakes and 1 lizard (16%); 13 of these snakes also shed Cryptosporidium serpentis oocysts. The oocysts were numerous in all positive samples, whereas microsporidian spores were always sparse, irrespective if whether fecal samples contained the oocysts. Retrospective examination of reptile clinical records revealed that all animals shedding microsporidian spores died naturally due to diseases, pathologic conditions, and clinical problems or were killed due to severe cryptosporidiosis. The present study indicates that microsporidian infections in reptiles have the features of an opportunistic infection.
Clinical and pathological observations on natural infections of cryptosporidiosis and flagellate protozoa in leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius).
Taylor MA, Geach MR, Cooley WA. Vet Rec 1999 Dec 11;145(24):695-9
A group of adult leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) which had been losing weight for several months were found to be infected with Cryptosporidium species. Histological and electron microscopical investigations on the intestines of five of the lizards revealed the presence of large numbers of the developmental stages of Cryptosporidium species attached to the mucosal surface of the lower intestine, and large numbers of flagellate protozoa, suspected to be predominantly Trichomonas species, in the gut lumen. The clinical signs were attributed to the presence of one or both types of parasites.
Intestinal Cryptosporidium sp. infection in the Egyptian tortoise, Testudo kleinmanni.
Graczyk TK, Cranfield MR, Mann J, Strandberg JD. Int J Parasitol 1998 Dec;28(12):1885-8
An adult Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni) presented with clinical signs of enteritis and died 5 weeks after initiation of antibiotic therapy. Histological examination of the small intestine revealed heavy infection with Cryptosporidium sp.; over 80% of epithelial cells harboured the pathogen. No Cryptosporidium developmental stages were present in the stomach or the lungs. The intestinal lamina propria and mucosa were infiltrated by heterophils, lymphocytes and macrophages. The present study constitutes the first report of Cryptosporidium sp. infection in T. kleinmanni, and the first histological documentation of intestinal cryptosporidiosis in Chelonia.
Cryptosporidium Found In Woodland Creatures.
American Society for Microbiology
Watch out. Those innocent woodland creatures could be harboring the Cryptosporidium parasite, say researchers from Columbia University. They report their findings in the March 2001 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. "We performed a wildlife survey, focusing on white-tailed deer and small mammals, to assess whether they may serve as environmental sources of Cryptosporidium," say the researchers. They collected fecal samples from several locations in lower New York State over a two year period and tested them for the parasite. They found evidence of the parasite in samples from white-tailed deer, chipmunks, skunks, raccoons and muskrats."These data provide evidence that there is sylvatic transmission of Cryptosporidium parvum involving deer and other small mammals. This study affirmed the importance of wildlife as potential sources of Cryptosporidium in the catchments of public water supplies," say the researchers.
Cryptosporidium parvum infection involving novel genotypes in wildlife from lower New York State.
J. Perz and S. Le Blancq. 2001. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 67: 1154-1162.
Cryptosporidium, an enteric parasite of humans and a wide range of other mammals, presents numerous challenges to the supply of safe drinking water. We performed a wildlife survey, focusing on white-tailed deer and small mammals, to assess whether they may serve as environmental sources of Cryptosporidium. A PCR-based approach that permitted genetic characterization via sequence analysis was applied to wildlife fecal samples (n = 111) collected from September 1996 to July 1998 from three areas in lower New York State. Southern analysis revealed 22 fecal samples containing Cryptosporidium small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA; these included 10 of 91 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) samples, 3 of 5 chipmunk (Tamias striatus) samples, 1 of 2 white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) samples, 1 of 2 striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) samples, 1 of 5 racoon (Procyon lotor) samples, and 6 of 6 muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) samples. All of the 15 SSU PCR products sequenced were characterized as Cryptosporidium parvum; two were identical to genotype 2 (bovine), whereas the remainder belonged to two novel SSU sequence groups, designated genotypes 3 and 4. Genotype 3 comprised four deer-derived sequences, whereas genotype 4 included nine sequences from deer, mouse, chipmunk, and muskrat samples. PCR analysis was performed on the SSU-positive fecal samples for three other Cryptosporidium loci (dihydrofolate reductase, polythreonine-rich protein, and beta-tubulin), and 8 of 10 cloned PCR products were consistent with C. parvum genotype 2. These data provide evidence that there is sylvatic transmission of C. parvum involving deer and other small mammals. This study affirmed the importance of wildlife as potential sources of Cryptosporidium in the catchments of public water supplies.