Cryptosporidium muris in wild house mice ( Mus musculus): First report in the UK

During a survey for Cryptosporidium species in the faeces of livestock and wild rodents at an agricultural college farm and stables, typical C. parvum and presumptive C. muris oocysts were identified from wild house mice ( Mus musculus) by acid-fast staining of faecal smears examined by bright field microscopy. An immunofluorescence antibody test was used on oocysts to confirm the identification of Cryptosporidium species and tissues were examined by transmission electron microscopy to confirm the identity of the presumptive C. muris. The type species of the genus Cryptosporidium, C. muris, was found in laboratory mice in the USA by Tyzzer [20] in 1907. Since then there have been no substantiated reports of its occurrence in wild mice anywhere in the world.