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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 07 1997, 1862-1866, Vol 35, No. 7
C del Aguila, R Lopez-Velez, S Fenoy, C Turrientes, J Cobo, R Navajas, GS Visvesvara, GP Croppo, AJ Da Silva and NJ Pieniazek
Enterocytozoon bieneusi, a microsporidian parasite, has been recognized
since 1985 as an agent of intestinal microsporidiosis leading to
malabsorption syndrome, diarrhea, and weight loss in AIDS patients.
Recently, however, we have identified E. bieneusi spores in the sputum,
bronchoalveolar lavage, and stool samples of an AIDS patient with a 2- year
history of intestinal microsporidiosis. The spores were characterized by
Weber's chromotrope-based staining, immunofluorescence tests, and PCR. No
microsporidia were detected in urine samples by the same techniques. PCR
was performed with DNAs purified from specimens with E. bieneusi-,
Encephalitozoon cuniculi-, Encephalitozoon hellem-, and Encephalitozoon
(Septata) intestinalis-specific primers. Treatment with albendazole and
loperamide resulted in an improvement of intestinal symptoms, without
eradication of the parasite. To our knowledge, this is the second report of
the identification of E. bieneusi spores in respiratory and enteric samples
obtained from an AIDS patient. Although no pulmonary pathology could be
established in either of these cases, it is now clear that E. bieneusi is
capable of colonizing the respiratory tract and it is suggested that
investigators should be aware of the possibility of finding E. bieneusi
spores in respiratory secretions.
Copyright © 1997 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi spores in respiratory samples from an AIDS patient with a 2-year history of intestinal microsporidiosis
Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnicas, Universidad San Pablo CEU, Madrid, Spain.
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