BACKGROUND: To date, Cryptosporidium cuniculus has been found exclusively in rabbits and humans. The present study provides the first published molecular evidence for C. cuniculus in an Australian human patient as well as a kangaroo. FINDINGS: Using PCR-based sequencing of regions in the actin, 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) and small subunit of ribosomal RNA (SSU) genes, we identified a new and unique C. cuniculus genotype (akin to VbA25) from a human, and C. cuniculus genotype VbA26 from an Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) in Australia. CONCLUSIONS: The characterisation of these genotypes raises questions as to their potential to infect humans and/or other animals in Australia, given that C. cuniculus has been reported to cause cryptosporidiosis outbreaks in Europe.
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Koehler et al. (2014) studied this question.
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