Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Parasitology 1735-7020 9 3 2014 09 15 435 440 EN Mahmoud Mahami Oskouei Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Esmaeil Fallah Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadi International Branch of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (Aras), Tabriz, Iran. Abdolrasoul Safaiyan Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Salar Bakhtiyari Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran. Razi Naserifar Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran AND Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Paramedicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran. Majid Dousti Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Paramedicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran. 2015 10 14 Background: Cryptosporidiosis is one of the most important parasitic infections in human and animals. This study was designed for survey on the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in farms of Ilam, west of Iran, using parasitology method and genotyping by Nested PCR-RFLP. Methods: Fecal samples of 217 cattle were collected fresh and directly from the rectum of cattle. All of the samples were examined by microscopic observation after staining with modified Ziehl-Neelsen (MZN). Genomic DNA extracted by using EURx DNA kit. A Nested PCR-RFLP protocol amplifying 825 bp fragment of 18s rRNA gene conducted to differentiate species and genotyping of the isolates using SspI and VspI as restriction enzymes. Results: The prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in cattle using both methods is 3.68%. Most of the positive cattle were calves under six months. Species diagnosis carried out by digesting the secondary PCR product with SspI that C. parvum generated 3 visible bands of 448, 247 and 106 bp and digested by VspI restriction enzyme generated 2 visible bands of 628 and 104bp. In this investigation all of the positive samples were Cryptosporidium parvum. Conclusion: C. parvum (bovine genotype) detected in all positive cattle samples in Ilam, west of Iran. The results of the present study can help for public health care systems to prevention and management of cryptosporidiosis in cattle and the assessment of cattle cryptosporidiosis as a reservoir for the human infection. https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/381 https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/download/381/363