Diagnosis Of Contamination Of Vegetables And Fruits With Cryptosporidium Spp Using Nested-PCR Technique

Abstract

Cryptosporidium is a parasite that spreads all over the world and is transmitted through food contaminated with the infectious process. In this study, Cryptosporidium parasite was diagnosed on fruits and vegetables based on microscopic diagnosis of isolated samples of vegetables and fruits as well as molecular diagnosis. The aim of this study was to isolate Cryptosporidium parasite from vegetables and fruits and extract its DNA using a (modified) method that can be easily applied in laboratories and then molecularly diagnosed.Where 230 samples were examined microscopically and stained using Zyl Nelson Axial dye, and it was found that there were injuries in only 3 samples of the studied models, with a percentage of 1.30%. DNA was extracted for all samples using laboratory prepared solutions, where 102 samples were obtained from the total samples, with a percentage of 44.3%. The gene HSP-70 was used to molecularly diagnose Cryptosporidium spp and it was found that 10 samples were positive from all studied models with a percentage of 9.80%.