Cryptosporidiosis in Haiti: surprisingly low level of species diversity revealed by molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium oocysts from surface water and groundwater

The protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium sp. has emerged as one of the most important water contaminants, causing waterborne outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases worldwide. In Haiti, cryptosporidiosis is a frequent cause of diarrhoea in children under the age of five years, HIV-infected individuals, and people living in low socioeconomic conditions, mainly due to the consumption of water or food polluted by Cryptosporidium oocysts. The aim of this study was to detect and identify Cryptosporidium oocysts present in 12 water samples collected in Port-au-Prince and 4 water samples collected in Cap Haïtien. Initial detection consisted of immunomagnetic separation – immunofluorescence assay (IMS-IFA), which was confirmed by nested PCR, targeting the most polymorphic region of the 18S rRNA gene in 15/16 samples. Genotyping was performed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and DNA sequencing. Under our working conditions, neither nested PCR-RFLP nor direct DNA sequencing revealed the expected species diversity, as only Cryptosporidium parvum was identified in the water samples studied. This study highlights the difficulty of detecting mixed populations of Cryptosporidium species in environmental samples.