Infectivity of Cryptosporidium muris and C. parvum to zinc deficient rats and mice

摘要

Cryptosporidia are zoonotic protozoa that are causative agents for the severe diarrhea ofhumans and calves. Generally, zinc deficiency lowers the resistance to infection ; however, thereare no information to the relationship between zinc deficiency and cryptosporidiosis. Then, weinvestigated the infectivity of the parasites in zinc deficient rats and mice. Gastric parasitizingCryptosporidium muris RN66 that had been serially passaged in mice was not infective to zincdeficient or control rats. The results suggest that zinc deficient rats do not have the increasedsusceptibility to the parasites. The parasite was infective to zinc deficient and control SCIDmice with the same level of infectivity. When intestinal parasitizing C. parvum was inoculatedto SCID mice, there was no obvious difference in the prepatent period between in the zincdeficient and control mice. Zinc deficiency may not play a role on decline of the susceptibilityof mice to C. muris and C. parvum, nor suppression of the development of these Cryptosporidiumparasites.