ABSTRACT

This study was carried out on 45 stool specimens, consisting of 18 samples from children with diarrhea and 27 samples from diarrheic calves. Samples were screened by both carbol fuchsin staining and nested PCR for presence of Cryptosporidium spp. Using the carbol fuchsin staining method, we detected a total of 4 (8.9%) positive samples out of 45; of these 3 (%11,2) were from calf samples and 1 (5.6%) from a child. Nested PCR detected a total of 9 (20.0% positive samples out of 45 including 8 (29.7%) from calf samples and 1 (5.6%) from a child. Although the staining method revealed a 100% specificity, it was deficient in sensitivity (44.0%) compared to nested PCR. The study showed that nested PCR is an acceptable method for studying the etiology of doubtful diarrheal cases.

Keywords: Cryptosporidiosis, nested PCR, carbol fuchsin, human, calves