Abstract
BackgroundEnterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian species infecting humans and various animals worldwide. To date, there has been limited information on the prevalence of infection and genotypes of E. bieneusi in cattle in the Republic of Korea. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence and genotypes of E. bieneusi circulating in pre-weaned Korean native calves and determined the age pattern of E. bieneusi infection and the relationship between E. bieneusi infection and diarrhea.MethodsThe prevalence of E. bieneusi infection in pre-weaned Korean native calves was screened by polymerase chain reaction. PCR-positive products were sequenced to determine the genotype of E. bieneusi. A Chi-square analysis was used to compare the association between diarrhea and the infection rate of E. bieneusi in each age range or for all ages.ResultsPCR and sequencing analysis revealed an overall prevalence (16.9%, 53/314) of E. bieneusi in pre-weaned calves. The prevalence of E. bieneusi was highest in September (36.2%), followed by March (28.3%). Enterocytozoon bieneusi infection was associated with diarrhea in calves (χ2 = 5.82, P = 0.016). Our results also indicated that E. bieneusi infection was significantly associated with calf age (χ2 = 11.61, P = 0.003), and the prevalence of E. bieneusi infection was significantly higher in calves aged 21–40 days-old (odds ratio: 2.90, 95% confidence interval: 1.54–5.45; P = 0.001) than in those aged 1–20 days-old. Interestingly, the association between E. bieneusi infection and diarrhea was observed only in calves aged 1–20 days-old (χ2 = 5.82, P = 0.010). We identified three known genotypes, BEB4 (n = 12), BEB8 (n = 21) and J (n = 16), and three novel genotypes, BEB8-like (n = 21), KCALF1 (n = 1) and KCALF2 (n = 1). The genotype BEB8 was the most prevalent among all age groups. All genotypes identified in this study exhibited zoonotic potential.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first report of the genotype BEB4 in pre-weaned Korean native calves. Zoonotic E. bieneusi infection was prevalent in pre-weaned calves, indicating that cattle may play an important role as a reservoir host for E. bieneusi transmission to humans.
Highlights
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian species infecting humans and various animals worldwide
The present study showed that the infection rate of E. bieneusi in pre-weaned Korean native calves was 16.9%, which is similar to that reported in other studies for cattle in the Republic of Korea (ROK) and several other countries [17, 27,28,29,30]
Results of the present study showed that co-infection with E. bieneusi and G. duodenalis was not statistically significant (P = 0.056; Table 3); it was 3.36-fold more likely to cause diarrhea compared with a single infection with E. bieneusi in calves
Summary
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian species infecting humans and various animals worldwide. There has been limited information on the prevalence of infection and genotypes of E. bieneusi in cattle in the Republic of Korea. Hwang et al Parasites Vectors (2020) 13:300 immunocompetent individuals [3,4,5,6,7] This species is primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route, and E. bieneusi spores from seemingly healthy animals, humans, and contaminated water or food could be potential sources of infection [8]. Genotyping of E. bieneusi and assessment of its host specificity and zoonotic potential are dependent on the sequence analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) [9, 10]. More than 50 E. bieneusi genotypes have been identified in cattle, most of which belong to Group 2 [14]. Some genotypes (BEB4, BEB6, I and J) were detected in humans [15,16,17,18], suggesting that cattle can serve as potential reservoirs of human infection
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