Overview of the Presentations on Microsporidia and Free-Living Amebae at the 10th International Workshops on Opportunistic Protists

Abstract

Microsporidia, particularly Enterocytozoon bieneusi and the Encephalitozoon species, cause diarrhea and systemic disease in humans, and the free-living amebae (FLA), such as Naegleria fowleri and species of Acanthamoeba, cause fatal infections of the central nervous system (CNS) in humans. Both groups of organisms appear to cause infection via waterborne transmission, among other modes, and both are particularly problematic as causes of opportunistic infections (OIs) in persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS. These infections are also being detected in other groups of immunologically compromised individuals, such as children, travelers, and the elderly. This overview summarizes research on the microsporidia and FLA presented at the 10th International Workshops on Opportunistic Protists (IWOP-10), conducted in Boston, MA, 28 to 31 May 2008. Conditions of immune deficiency render individuals susceptible to a myriad of OIs. OIs were the principal causes of morbidity and mortality in persons with HIV/AIDS until the mid-1990s, when combination antiretroviral therapies (ART) began to be applied. Despite the dramatic reduction of OIs resulting from ART, OIs continue to affect persons with HIV who may be unaware of their HIV infection or are unable or unwilling to access ART (26). The IWOP were initiated as a means to exchange and discuss research on the OIs affecting HIV/AIDS (15). This venue has served to improve our understanding of the OIs that affect persons with HIV/AIDS and that are increasingly being recognized in additional groups of individuals with compromised immune systems, such as malnourished children, organ transplant recipients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and the elderly. MICROSPORIDIA