Browsing by Author "Gould, F."

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    Biological contamination of urban soils in Leicester, UK, with Cryptosporidium spp.: a pilot study.
    (Toxicology Letters, 2016-09-07) Pena-Fernandez, A.; Lobo-Bedmar, M. C.; Gould, F.; Khan, B.; Fenoy, S.; Izquierdo, F.; Magnet, A.; Hoosen, H.; del Aguila, C.
    Environmental contamination with zoonotic microorganisms can have significant health and environmental implications due to their potential for producing large numbers of transmissive stages and their ability to survive in the environment for prolonged periods of time. This is especially relevant in urban environments because of the dramatic human population boom and urbanization. Cryptosporidium spp. is a zoonotic pathogen which can affect animals and humans. Although a major public health concern there is limited information about the occurrence and circulation of Cryptosporidium spp. in urban environments. 27 soil and animal faecal samples from birds, water birds, cats and dogs were collected in public parks and recreation areas in Leicester centre city between January and February 2016. Samples were collected on days with no rain to avoid problems of sample integrity. After appropriate preparation of each sample, detection of Cryptosporidium spp. was performed with the conventional parasitological technique of Kinyoun's acid-fast staining and the immunoassay ImmunoCard STAT!®. None of the 27 samples collected was positive for these emerging pathogens, although we found structures that may be related to Cryptosporidium in one of the faecal smears from a dog. Despite the preliminary data described indicating a limited presence of Cryptosporidium spp. in the public parks and recreational areas monitored, further more detailed knowledge of their circulation in these ecosystems will be crucial to assess the public risk to develop novel strategies to protect humans and increase the awareness of parasite contamination of our environment.
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    Detection of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in topsoils and faecal samples from urban parks in Leicester, UK.
    (Society for Applied Microbiology Summer Conference 2016, 2016-07-07) Khan, B.; Gould, F.; Izquierdo, F.; del Aguila, C.; Fenoy, S.; Magnet, A.; Hoosen, H.; Pena-Fernandez, A.
    Aims The main aim of this study was to detect the occurrence of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in soils and faecal samples in Leicester, UK, as a preliminary study in this area to assess possible impacts on human health. Methods and results 18 faecal and 9 soil samples were collected in public parks and recreation areas close to Leicester centre city between January and February 2016 following the methodology described by Dado et al. (2012). A veterinarian identified the possible animal species of the stool samples: 8 avian (pigeons and water birds), 6 dogs, 3 cats and 2 unidentified due to diarrhoea. The immunoassay ImmunoCard STAT!® was used to detect the presence of Giardia intestinalis and Cryptosporidium parvum (Elsafi et al., 2013). Kinyoun's acid-fast staining was also performed to detect Cryptosporidium spp. (Dado et al., 2012). Only one of the dog’s faecal samples was positive for Giardia for the immunoassay. We also found structures that may be related with Cryptosporidium in one of the faecal smears from a different dog’s sample. Conclusions Although Giardia duodenalis has been detected in only one of the 18 faecal samples collected, this result could indicate the presence of this enteropathogen in the areas of the city monitored. The presence of Cryptosporidium spp. in only one sample may be related with the circulation of these parasites in the environment as a significant reduction in the incidence of cryptosporidiosis has been reported in winter in the UK (PHE, 2013). Significance of study Both pathogens have a wide range of host species, including companion animals, but the size of this risk is not well known. A clear understanding of the size of this risk is important to set up intervention programmes to protect human health, especially in urban environments, due to the exponential urban development. References Dado, D, Izquierdo, F, Vera, O, Montoya, A, Mateo, M, Fenoy, S, Galván, AL, García, S, García, A, Aránguez, E, López, L, del Águila, C, Miró, G (2012). Detection of zoonotic intestinal parasites in public parks of Spain. Potential epidemiological role of microsporidia. Zoonoses Public Health; 59(1):23-8 Elsafi, SH, Al-Maqati, TN, Hussein, MI, Adam, AA, Hassan, MM and Al Zahrani, EM (2013). Comparison of microscopy, rapid immunoassay, and molecular techniques for the detection of Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum. Parasitol Res; 112(4):1641-6 PHE (Public Health England) (2013). Cryptosporidium: statistics 2000 to 2012. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cryptosporidium-statistics-2000-to-2012
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    Detection of new emerging pathogens microsporidia in recreational areas in Leicester, UK: potential risks for human health.
    (Toxicology Letters, 2016-09) Pena-Fernandez, A.; del Aguila, C.; Fenoy, S.; Magnet, A.; Khan, B.; Gould, F.; Lobo-Bedmar, M. C.; Izquierdo, F.
    Humans are increasingly being exposed to a different range of biological hazards in the urban media. The identification of these hazards and the implementation of intervention mechanisms to protect the public health are therefore necessary. Microsporidia, a new emerging pathogenic group, forms environmentally resistant spores, and has been related with recent water- and food-borne outbreaks. “Urban” animals can be reservoirs of these parasites playing a role in the environmental contamination of cities. Accidental ingestion of microsporidia spores while playing or spending time in recreational areas may be a significant risk for people. However, there is limited information about the presence of microsporidia in the UK environment. 18 faecal and 9 soil samples were collected in recreational areas in Leicester city between January and February 2016. A veterinarian identified the possible animal species of the stool samples: 8 avian (pigeons and water birds), 6 dogs, 3 cats and 2 unidentified due to diarrhoea. After appropriate preparation of each sample, detection of microsporidia was performed with the conventional parasitological technique of Weber’s Trichrome staining. We observed microsporidia spores in two samples from dogs and none were identified in soil samples. Although our results should be taken as preliminary, they might indicate a possible potential zoonotic role of domestic dogs in the transmission of these pathogens. Dogs are in close contact to human, so further research is critical to assess the public risks of these pathogens in the urban media and the identification of applicable interventions to decontaminate the environment to protect humans.