Zoonotic potential of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in pre-weaned Korean native calves

Abstract

BackgroundEnterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian species that can infect humans and various animals worldwide. To date, there has been limited information on the prevalence and genotypes of E. bieneusi infection 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 used to compare the associations between diarrhea and infection rate of E. bieneusi in each age ranges or all ages. ResultsPCR and sequencing analysis revealed an overall prevalence of E. bieneusi of 16.9% (53/314) in preweaned calves. The prevalence of E. bieneusi was the highest in September (36.2%), followed by March (28.3%). E. bieneusi infection (χ 2 = 5.82, P = 0.016) was associated with diarrhea in calves. Our results also indicated that E. bieneusi infection was statistically associated with calf age (χ 2 = 11.61, P = 0.003), and the prevalence of E. bieneusi infection was significantly higher in calves aged 21−40 days (odds ratio = 2.90, 95% confidence interval: 1.54−5.45; P = 0.001) than in those aged 1−20 days. Interestingly, the association between E. bieneusi infection and diarrhea was observed only in calves aged 1−20 days (χ 2 = 5.82, P = 0.010). Furthermore, our results indicated that E. bieneusi infection in pre-weaned calves may be associated with mild diarrhea rather than severe diarrhea. We identified five genotypes, BEB4 (n = 12), BEB8 (n = 23), CHN6 (n = 1), I (n = 1), and J (n = 16), and all of which belonged to Group 2. The genotype BEB8 was the most prevalent among all age groups irrespective of diarrhea. In contrast, the genotype I was identified only in one calf aged 10 days with diarrhea. Except for CHN6, the other four genotypes were mostly observed in cattle, and all exhibited zoonotic potential.

Prevalence and molecular characterization of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. and <i>Enterocytozoon bieneusi</i> from large-scale cattle farms in Anhui Province, China

“…Furthermore, there was also no difference in the infection of E. bieneusi between normal and abnormal feces groups, which was consistent with previous findings in Brazil, Guangdong and Maryland [5,7,30], those indicated the infection of E. bieneusi was not associated with the occurrence of any clinical signs in infected cattle. However, a few studies indicated that E. bieneusi can cause diarrhea in pre-weaned cattle [10]. The differences of these results may be related to the age of cattle, and the immune system is not fully developed in pre-weaned calves.…”

“…animals [23,38]. The infection of E. bieneusi is responsible for persistent diarrhea in both human and cattle worldwide, notably in immune deficient patients [4,10,23].…”

Enterocytozoon bieneusi in fecal samples from calves and cows in Austria

“…The highest infection rate was recorded at six weeks of age which is also in accordance to the present investigation (mean = 41.8 days old, median = 29.5 days old). Nevertheless, in both studies E. bieneusi has also been detected in calves with normal fecal consistency(Hwang et al 2020, Zhao et al 2020). In previous investigations, no difference in E. bieneusi infection status (positive or negative) and Cryptosporidium spp.…”

“…In previous investigations, no difference in E. bieneusi infection status (positive or negative) and Cryptosporidium spp. or G. intestinalis co-infections was detected(Hwang et al 2020). In the present study, a signi cant difference has been found only between calves infected with Eimeria spp.…”