%0 Journal Article
%T Presence of Cryptosporidium parvum in pre-washed vegetables from different supermarkets in South East England: A pilot study.
%A Suleiman AJ
%A Mavrides DE
%A Maxamhud S
%A Gentekaki E
%A Tsaousis AD
%J Parasitol Res
%V 123
%N 6
%D 2024 Jun 1
%M 38822199
%F 2.383
%R 10.1007/s00436-024-08250-w
%X Cryptosporidium is an important water-borne and food-borne parasite with a high burden of disease. This organism has been shown to contaminate various leafy vegetables; however, studies assessing the presence of Cryptosporidium spp in pre-washed and ready-to-eat vegetables are limited. Routine surveillance in the UK revealed a nationwide exceedance of human cases of Cryptosporidium. Therefore, this study aims to assess the presence of this parasite in pre-washed vegetables from supermarkets in the UK. A total of 36 samples were purchased from four different supermarkets. A nested PCR targeting the SSU rRNA was carried out on 24 samples, 58% were PCR-positive for Cryptosporidium. Sanger sequencing confirmed that, of these sequences, 4/24 (17%) produced significant similarities to Cryptosporidium parvum. This study provides evidence for the presence of C. parvum in pre-washed and ready-to-eat vegetables. Future work to identify the point of contamination is required.