High prevalence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in asymptomatic pigs and assessment of zoonotic risk at the genotype level.

ABSTRACT: Enterocytozoon bieneusi is an emerging and clinically significant enteric parasite infecting humans and animals and can cause life-threatening diarrhea in immunocompromised people. Pigs are considered to be one of the main reservoir hosts of E. bieneusi based on their high prevalence rates and zoonotic genotypes in pigs. As an opportunistic pathogen, E. bieneusi infection of pigs can be inapparent, which leads to neglect in detecting this parasite in pigs and assessing the epidemiological role of pigs in the transmission of human microsporidiosis. In the present study, 95 healthy pigs aged 2 or 3 months were randomly selected from three areas in Heilongjiang Province, China. E. bieneusi isolates were identified and genotyped based on the small-subunit (SSU) rRNA and internal transcribed sp

SUBMITTER: Zhao W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4054152 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature