*Article* **Genetic Characterization of** *Cryptosporidium cuniculus* **from Rabbits in Egypt**

**Doaa Naguib 1, Dawn M. Roellig 2, Nagah Arafat <sup>3</sup> and Lihua Xiao 4,\***


**Abstract:** Rabbits are increasingly farmed in Egypt for meat. They are, however, known reservoirs of infectious pathogens. Currently, no information is available on the genetic characteristics of *Cryptosporidium* spp. in rabbits in Egypt. To understand the prevalence and genetic identity of *Cryptosporidium* spp. in these animals, 235 fecal samples were collected from rabbits of different ages on nine farms in El-Dakahlia, El-Gharbia, and Damietta Provinces, Egypt during the period from July 2015 to April 2016. PCR-RFLP analysis of the small subunit rRNA gene was used to detect and genotype *Cryptosporidium* spp. The overall detection rate was 11.9% (28/235). All 28 samples were identified as *Cryptosporidium cuniculus*. The 16 samples successfully subtyped by the sequence analysis of the partial 60 kDa glycoprotein gene belonged to two subtypes, VbA19 (*n* = 1) and VbA33 (*n* = 15). As *C. cuniculus* is increasingly recognized as a cause of human cryptosporidiosis, *Cryptosporidium* spp. in rabbits from Egypt have zoonotic potential.

**Keywords:** *Cryptosporidium cuniculus*; rabbits; Egypt; *gp60* gene; PCR-RFLP; zoonoses
