Cryptosporidial Infection in a Calf

Abstract

An 8-month-old female calf had a coccidian of the genus Cryptosporidium. This is the first report of cryptosporidial infection in cattle. The clinical syndrome was characterized by diarrhea, debilitation, and a chronic course. Gross lesions related to the infection were mild; however, histopathologic findings in the small intestine were generally characterized by villous atrophy and the presence of various developmental forms of Cryptosporidia in the microvillous border of the epithelium. The existence of signs and lesions very similar to those reported in the turkey and guinea pig suggests that disease in the calf might have been caused by cryptosporidial infection.