PCR-ELISA: a new simplified tool for tracing the source of cryptosporidiosis in HIV-positive patients.
Cryptosporidium parvum is a major parasitic cause of death in end-stage AIDS patients that results from both zoonotic and person-to-person transmission. Recent studies have provided evidence that parasites causing zoonotic disease and those causing anthroponotic infection are genetically distinct. Isolates carrying "animal"-type genetic markers were presumed to be the result of zoonotic spread, either directly or through contaminated food and water. The need for a genotype-specific diagnostic tool that can provide clues as to the origin and possible modes of spread of C. parvum strains has been recognised. Here, we report the development of such a tool for C. parvum based on polymerase chain reaction-enzyme linked immunosorbent assay that enables the accurate typing of isolates from HIV-seropositive and HIV-negative patients presenting with diarrhoea from the United Kingdom and Canada. This study also showed that zoonotic transmission might be predominant in the HIV-positive patient group in the United Kingdom.
Gibbons
C L
CL
Department of Biology, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London, UK.
Ong
C S
CS
Miao
Y
Y
Casemore
D P
DP
Gazzard
B G
BG
Awad-El-Kariem
F M
FM
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D000818:Animals; D003457:Cryptosporidiosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*