The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, variability with host age, and the
genotypes of species of Cryptosporidium in cattle from 15 dairy farms in Qazvin province,
Iran. Fecal samples, collected from 272 cattle during May 2006 to December 2007, were
characterized microscopically. Oocysts from 51 positive samples were analyzed using PCR
assay of 18S SSU rRNA, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequencing.
We identified 72.6% of the positive samples as Cryptosporidium parvum, 17.7% as
Cryptosporidium andersoni, 7.8% as Cryptosporidiumbovis and 1.9% as a novel genotype of C.
parvum possessing a single mutation on MboII restriction. An infection rate of 19.5% of C.
parvum among 174 pre-weaned calves was significantly higher than the 3.1% among 98
post-weaned calves (P < 0.0006). This is the first report of C. bovis and the new
subgenotype of C. parvum in Iranian cattle.
