The molecular characterisation of Cryptosporidium species in relinquished dogs in Great Britain: a novel zoonotic risk?

Surveillance was conducted to investigate the occurrence of protozoan parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium in dogs newly admitted to a dog rehoming charity in London, Great Britain. Voided faecal samples were collected from all new admissions between 2011 and 2012 during six separate 4-week sampling periods. Information on host signalment, including age, breed and reason for submission and faecal consistency, was collected. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting the 18S ribosomal RNA gene, confirmed by sequencing, was conducted on the faecal samples to detect Cryptosporidium genomic DNA and determine Cryptosporidium identity. In total, 677 dogs were included in the study. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium-positive faecal samples was 4.6% (31/676). There were positive samples in all of the six sampling periods. Cryptosporidium canis (n = 28), C. parvum (n = 2) and C. andersoni (n = 1) were identified. Sixty KDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene amplicon sequencing of the C. parvum samples identified genotypes IIaA17G1R1 and IIaA15G2R1 for the first time from a dog. There were no significant associations between signalment data and Cryptosporidium status. While this was a study of one rehoming shelter, the presence of the potentially zoonotic C. parvum and C. canis in dogs highlights a public health concern. Further research is needed to better understand the epidemiology and potential impacts of Cryptosporidium infection in dogs.

[The incidence of anti-HIV antibodies in hospitalized patients in a tuberculosis clinic]. / Incidence des anticorps anti-HIV chez des malades hospitalisés en clinique de phtisiologie.

HIV antibody prevalence was studied in 1274 patients, including 150 children, hospitalized in phthisiology services. The sixteen EIA positive samples were confirmed by the Western blot test (1.25%). The other seventeen EIA positive samples gave undetermined results in W.B. In children, antibody incidence was 7.33% versus 0.45% only in adults: this ratio seems to be characteristic for AIDS endemia in Romania, where parenteral transmission is the quasi unique way of HIV infection dissemination in children. The presence of nonspecific multiple bands in the gp 41 region was noted on seven of the seventeen undetermined samples, which is to confirm the reports about the presence of W.B. detectable anti-HIV antibodies cross-reacting with anti-mycobacterial antibodies.