Detection and prevalence of Cryptosporidium in irrigation water, soil, and fresh produce : spiking experiments and environmental monitoring

These datasets provide a comprehensive overview of the experimental design, data collection, and findings.</p><ol><li>Dataset 1: Materials and Methods – Spiking Trials<br>This file contains detailed information on the methodology used for spiking Cryptosporidium oocysts into distilled water, commercial soil, and RTE spinach and lettuce.

The methodology included sample spiking, DNA extraction and molecular detection using both Real-Time PCR and Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR).</li><li>Dataset 2: Results – Spiking Trials<br>This dataset presents the results obtained from the spiking trials, including recovery rates, detection efficiencies using real-time PCR and ddPCR, and variations across different sample matrices.</li><li>Dataset 3: Materials and Methods – Environmental Detection<br>This file describes the protocols used for detecting Cryptosporidium in environmental samples collected from the water-soil-plant nexus from smallholder farms in South Africa.