Abstract
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most frequently diagnosed microsporidian species in humans and occurs in a wide range of animals. This study was conducted in Central Ethiopia to determine the prevalence and genotypes of E. bieneusi in lambs in order to evaluate their public health significance. Three hundred eighty nine fecal samples were collected and screened using a nested PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the ribosomal RNA gene. All positive PCR products were sequenced to determine the genotypes. E. bieneusi was found in 39 (10.03%) of the lambs. Differences in the infection rates among sex and age groups were not significant (P > 0.05). Five ITS genotypes belonging to three known genotypes BEB6, COS-I, and COS-II, and two novel genotypes (ET-L1 and ET-L2) were identified in lambs. All five genotypes identified in the present study clustered within cattle-specific Group 2 in the ITS phylogenetic tree. This first molecular detection and characterization of E. bieneusi in lambs in Ethiopia has identified the need for further studies in humans and other domestic animals in order to determine the public health significance of E. bieneusi in Ethiopia.
Highlights
Microsporidia are obligate intracellular pathogens in humans and other animals worldwide (1, 2)
This study was conducted in Oromia Special Zone, Central Ethiopia
Of the 389 fecal specimens screened by nested internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) (392 bp) of the rRNA gene, E. bieneusi was found in 39 (10.03%) lambs (Table 1)
Summary
Microsporidia are obligate intracellular pathogens in humans and other animals worldwide (1, 2). Among the four microsporidian species infecting humans, Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most frequently diagnosed species. It has been reported in many mammals and birds (1). E. bieneusi primarily infects the intestinal absorptive cells and is mainly associated with chronic diarrhea and wasting syndrome (3). Based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) nucleotide sequence, considerable genetic diversity has been found within E. bieneusi (1, 4). More than 500 genotypes of E. bieneusi have been reported (5). The findings of previous studies suggest that both host-adapted genotypes with narrow host ranges and potentially zoonotic E. bieneusi genotypes with wide host ranges have been identified (1, 6)
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