Cryptosporidium spp. is an intracellular parasite that can cause cryptosporidiosis, a disease involving diarrhea and pain. Immunocompromised patients are more likely to suffer from complications and severe dehydration, and there is no medication with proven clinical efficacy for treatment. Cryptosporidium outbreaks are commonly caused by contaminated water. At the Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA), a method to detect Cryptosporidium spp. in stool samples through Magnetic Capture Hybridization (MCH) followed by qPCR has been developed. The aim of this study was to test the MCH-PCR method for detecting Cryptosporidium in water samples as well. At the Swedish Food Agency (SLV), Cryptosporidium is detected in water by filtration through a cartridge filter, followed by immunomagnetic separation and microscopic analysis. By combining the method used at SLV with the method used at SVA, MCH-PCR was performed directly on the filtration eluate. The preliminary results showed that the SVA method can be used to detect Cryptosporidium in water, and that a combination of the filtration and MCH-PCR yield similar results as to when MCH-PCR is performed alone. The results are promising but much work is needed to establish a robust and standardized method. For future studies, the method has to be performed on several water types, the sensitivity of the analysis has to be determined and improved, and the probes used may need revision.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-530887 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Björkman, Matilda |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för biologisk grundutbildning |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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