| Summary: | Bamboo rats (<i>Rhizomys sinensis</i>) are widely farmed in Guangdong, China, but the distribution and public health potential of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. in them are unclear. In this study, 724 fecal specimens were collected from bamboo rats in Guangdong Province and analyzed for <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. using PCR and sequence analyses of the small subunit rRNA gene. The overall detection rate of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. was 12.2% (88/724). By age, the detection rate in animals under 2 months (23.2% or 13/56) was significantly higher than in animals over 2 months (11.2% or 75/668; χ<sup>2</sup> = 6.95, <i>df</i> = 1, <i>p</i> = 0.0084). By reproduction status, the detection rate of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. in nursing animals (23.1% or 27/117) was significantly higher than in other reproduction statuses (6.8% or 4/59; χ<sup>2</sup> = 7.18, <i>df</i> = 1, <i>p</i> = 0.0074). Five <i>Cryptosporidium</i> species and genotypes were detected, including <i>Cryptosporidium</i> bamboo rat genotype I (<i>n</i> = 49), <i>C. parvum</i> (<i>n</i> = 31), <i>Cryptosporidium</i> bamboo rat genotype III (<i>n</i> = 5), <i>C. occultus</i> (<i>n</i> = 2), and <i>C. muris</i> (<i>n</i> = 1). The average numbers of oocysts per gram of feces for these <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. were 14,074, 494,636, 9239, 394, and 323, respectively. The genetic uniqueness of bamboo rat genotypes I and III was confirmed by sequence analyses of the 70 kDa heat shock protein and actin genes. Subtyping <i>C. parvum</i> by sequence analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein gene identified the presence of IIoA15G1 (<i>n</i> = 20) and IIpA6 (<i>n</i> = 2) subtypes. The results of this study indicated that <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. are common in bamboo rats in Guangdong, and some of the <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. in these animals are known human pathogens.
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