Detection of Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba spp. and Monocercomonas spp. in the gastrointestinal tract of snakes by in-situ hybridization.

This report describes the development of a diagnostic method for protozoal infections of the gastrointestinal tract of captive snakes, based on chromogenic in-situ hybridization with probes designed for the detection of 18S rRNA genes from Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba spp., Entamoeba invadens and Monocercomonas spp. The specificity of the probes was confirmed with the help of parasitic cultures and gene sequence analysis. The probes gave clear positive signals. Of 182 snakes examined, seven were positive with the Cryptosporidium probe, 13 with the Entamoeba probe (of which nine were also positive with the E. invadens probe), and 34 with the Monocercomonas probe.