Prevalence and risk factors of Cryptosporidium infection in farmed pigs in Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Yunnan provinces, China.

Cryptosporidiosis is caused by species of Cryptosporidium protozoa that can infect a wide range of host animals worldwide. However, data regarding Cryptosporidium infection in farmed pigs in subtropical areas in China is limited. Therefore, a total of 396 fecal samples were obtained from farmed pigs from Zhejiang (n = 124), Guangdong (n = 72), and Yunnan (n = 200) provinces, China, and were tested by PCR amplification of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium in pigs was 17.68% (70/396), with 20.11% (36/179) in male pigs and 15.67% (34/217) in female pigs. Additionally, Cryptosporidium prevalence was 8.33% (6/72) in Guangdong province, 14.52% (18/124) in Zhejiang province, and 23.00% (46/200) in Yunnan province. A DNA sequence analysis of the SSU rRNA gene revealed that all of the isolates represented C. scrofarum. This is the first report of C. scrofarum infection in pigs in Guangdong and Yunnan provinces in subtropical areas of China. The results of the present study provide foundation data for control and prevention of Cryptosporidium infection in pigs in the study areas in China.