Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Dairy Cattle in the Northeast of China: Genetic Diversity of ITS Gene and Evaluation of Zoonotic Transmission Potential

Abstract

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most frequently diagnosed microsporidian species in humans. It has been found in a wide range of animals and is considered an important zoonotic pathogen. To date, little information is available on the role that cattle play in the epidemiology of human microsporidiosis caused by E. bieneusi in China. In this study, 133 fecal specimens from dairy cattle were collected in Heilongjiang Province, China. Enterocytozoon bieneusi was identified and genotyped by nested PCR analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA gene, with 30.1% positive. Nine ITS genotypes were identified: six known genotypes-O (n = 26), EbpA (n = 2), I (n = 2), J (n = 2), D (n = 1) and BEB4 (n = 1)-and three novel genotypes named as CC-I to CC-III (two each). Genotype O was identified in cattle for the first time. The observation of all the six known genotypes here reported previously in humans, and also the fact of all the three novel genotypes (CHN-DC1 to CHN-DC3) falling into zoonotic group 1, indicate the possibility of cattle in the transmission of E. bieneusi to humans.

Occurrence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Donkeys (Equus asinus) in China: A Public Health Concern

“…For example, genotype D was identified in golden takins ( Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi ) in Shannxi (Karim et al, 2014a), non-human primates in Henan (Wang et al, 2013; Karim et al, 2014b), dairy cattle, sheep, goats, pig, raccoon dog, cats, blue foxes and dogs in Heilongjiang (Zhao et al, 2014a,b, 2015a,b; Li et al, 2015), and blue foxes in Jilin (Zhao et al, 2015c); genotype J was found in cattle in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Shandong, Henan, captive wildlife in Henan, yaks in Qinghai. In addition, genotypes D was also identified in HIV patients in Henan (Wang et al, 2013; Karim et al, 2014b) and J was found in a child in Jilin (Zhang et al, 2011).…”

Cryptosporidium spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi in introduced raccoons (Procyon lotor)—first evidence from Poland and Germany

“…Bootstrapping was performed using 1000 replicates, and the values below 50 % are not shown. The E. bieneusi group terminology is based on the works of Guo et al (2014), Zhao et al (2015), and Xu et al (2016) …”

“…are the major microsporidians infecting humans and animals worldwide (Santin and Fayer 2011). At present, over 240 E. bieneusi genotypes have been identified (Matos et al 2012; Zhao et al 2015). By internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis of E. bieneusi genotypes, eight different groups of all genotypes were established (Karim et al 2014).…”

New Genotypes of Enterocytozoon bieneusi Isolated from Sika Deer and Red Deer in China

“…In this study, genotype D was found in sika deer for the first time, indicating that genotype D might have a more extensive range of reservoir hosts than expected. EbpA and EbpC are another two prevalent genotypes found in humans and many animal species worldwide (Li et al, 2014; Yang et al, 2014; Zhao et al, 2015a,b). Genotype EbpA has been reported in only a few human cases of microsporidiosis among immunocompetent humans in the Czech Republic (Sak et al, 2011), HIV-infected individuals in Nigeria (Akinbo et al, 2012), and two children in Shanghai, China (Wang et al, 2013a), whereas genotype EbpC has been detected in humans in Vietnam, Thailand, Peru, the Czech Republic, and China (Santín and Fayer, 2011; Yang et al, 2014).…”