Clinical and morphological investigations in a spontaneous cryptosporidium enteritis outbreak in calves

The purpose of this report was to present the results of histopathological examination during the course of a natural Cryptosporidium parvum outbreak, as well as the morphology of cells infiltrating affected gastrointestinal tract areas in newborn calves.The study included 18 calves exhibiting a marked diarrhoeic syndrome, between 1 and 8 days of age.Sporulated C. parvum oocysts were demonstrated in faecal smears stained by the method of Henriksen.Coproantigens of C. parvum were detected by the rapid Rainbow calf scour 5 BIO K 306 test.Gross lesions were mainly present in the gastrointestinal tract, together with inflammation in regional mesenteric lymph nodes.Microscopic histopathological lesions consisted mainly in desquamative catarrh of intestinal mucosa and intestinal villous atrophy.The affected intestinal epithelium contained multiple Cryptosporidium spp.forms at different stage of the life cycle.The results from histopathological studies of the outbreak allowed confirming some main morphogenetic features of the disease caused by C. parvum in newborn and growing calves.