Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi in beef cattle in the Hebei Province of China

Cryptosporidium spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi (E. bieneusi) are two common opportunistic pathogens that can infect humans and animals worldwide. The available data on the prevalence of these pathogens is insufficient in Hebei Province, China, which is located in the Bohai Sea region. In the present study, 718 fecal specimens of native beef cattle from eight farms in Hebei Province were examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. and E. bieneusi using nested PCR targeting the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene of Cryptosporidium spp. and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of E. bieneusi. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. was 9.2% (66/718) and E. bieneusi was 8.6% (62/718). C. andersoni (n = 56) and C. parvum (n = 10) were identified in this study, and all C. parvum-positive specimens belonged to IIdA20G1 in the gp60 gene. The ITS sequence analysis obtained seven known E. bieneusi genotypes, including J (n = 48), BEB4 (n = 4), CHC8 (n = 3), EbpC (n = 2), I (n = 2), D (n = 2), and BEB6 (n = 1). Genotype D and EbpC belonged to the zoonotic Group 1, while the other genotype belonged to the host-adapted Group 2. This is the first report on the occurrence of E. bieneusi in beef cattle in Hebei Province. In this study, the presence of zoonotic C. parvum and two E. bieneusi genotypes suggest that cattle can be a potential zoonotic source for human or animal infection.