First identification of Cryptosporidium parvum subtype IIaA15G2R1 and two Eimeria species in the edible dormouse (Glis glis Linnaeus, 1766)

As part of the edible dormouse (Glis glis Linnaeus, 1766) monitoring program, faecal samples of seven animals from Montes do Invernadeiro Natural Park (Galicia, NW Spain) were collected following current guidelines for the ethical use of animals in research. Fresh faecal samples were individually processed using a diphasic concentration method and nucleic acids were extracted. PCR protocols were applied to amplify a fragment of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (ssu-rRNA) gene of Eimeria as well as fragments of ssu-rRNA and 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) loci of Cryptosporidium spp. The hypertransmissible Cryptosporidium parvum subtype IIaA15G2R1 was identified in one of the seven samples analysed (14.3%). Partial sequences of the Eimeria spp. ssu-rRNA gene were obtained from all seven faecal samples (100%), identifying Eimeria jerfinica and Eimeria cahirinensis in one and six samples (14.3 and 85.7%, respectively). This work reports for the first time the occurrence of Cryptosporidium and two Eimeria species in glirid hosts, specifically in edible dormouse (G. glis), demonstrating the widely distribution of these parasites in wildlife. The identification of the zoonotic C. parvum subtype IIaA15G2R1 revealed that this glirid may serve as a reservoir of cryptosporidiosis. The identification of E. jerfinica and E. cahirinensis highlights the need for further studies to clarify the nature of these findings.