Cryptosporidium viatorum from the native Australian swamp rat Rattus lutreolus - An emerging zoonotic pathogen?

Abstract

Cryptosporidium viatorum is a globally distributed pathogenic species of Cryptosporidium that has only ever been recorded from humans, until now. For the first time, we molecularly characterised a novel subtype of C. viatorum (subtype XVbA2G1) from the endemic Australian swamp rat (Rattus lutreolus) using the small subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA (SSU) gene and then subtyped it using the 60-kilodalton glycoprotein (gp60) gene. In total, faecal samples from 21 swamp rats (three were positive for C. viatorum), three broad toothed rats (Mastacomys fuscus) and two bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) were tested for Cryptosporidium. The long-term, isolated nature of the swamp rat population in Melbourne..