Identification of Encephalitozoon intestinalis in Travelers with Chronic Diarrhea by Specific PCR Amplification

作者：Laurent Raynaud, Frédéric Delbac, Véronique Broussolle, Méja Rabodonirina, Véronique Girault, Martine Wallon, Grégoire J. N. Cozon, Christian P. Vivarès, François Peyron · 发表于：Journal of Clinical Microbiology · 年份：1998 · DOI：10.1128/jcm.36.1.37-40.1998 · 被引用次数：156 · 研究领域：Parasitic Infections and Diagnostics、Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research、Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology

With the use of Weber's modified trichrome and Uvitex 2B techniques, spores of microsporidia were detected in the stools of four travelers presenting clinically with chronic diarrhea. The general health of these patients was not impaired, and human immunodeficiency virus screening was negative. Immune evaluation, including the study of lymphocytic subpopulations, assay of serum immunoglobulins, and an intradermal multitest, showed normal results. Molecular identification of microsporidian species was based on the PCR amplification of a small-subunit rRNA sequence followed by HinfI endonuclease restriction. Encephalitozoon intestinalis microsporidiosis was thus shown in two of the four patients examined. In two patients, therapy based on albendazole made stools devoid of microsporidian spores without influence on the intestinal disorders. The pathogenic role of E. intestinalis in immunocompetent individuals remains to be demonstrated.