title: Prevalence and molecular characteristics of urinary and intestinal microsporidia infections in renal transplant recipients.
abstract: Transplant recipients have been identified as a new risk group for microsporidia infection. We characterize for the first time the prevalence of microsporidia in intestinal and urinary tracts of renal transplant recipients. Molecular examination of 86 patients showed that 25.5% of them were infected; 86% were confirmed to have pathogens in their urine and 45.5% in stool. Among positive patients, 32% had microsporidia confirmed in both urine and stool. Genotyping revealed Encephalitozoon cuniculi (59%) and Enterocytozoon bieneusi (23%) monoinfections as well as coinfections with both species (18%). Moreover, we found diarrhoea and fever as symptoms significantly associated with microsporidia presence. Our results indicate that microsporidial infection should be considered in the assessment of renal transplant recipients, especially in the urinary tract, even if asymptomatic. Molecular identification of microsporidia species is relevant because of their different susceptibility for treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland. Electronic address: marta.kicia@umed.wroc.pl.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kicia
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wesolowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kopacz
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Transplantation Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jakuszko
authors.affiliation: Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Institute of Parasitology, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sak
authors.affiliation: Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Institute of Parasitology, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Květonová
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Transplantation Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krajewska
authors.affiliation: Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Institute of Parasitology, Czech Republic; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Agriculture, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kváč
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D016814:Microsporidia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016881:Microsporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D066027:Transplant Recipients; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Encephalitozoon cuniculi; Enterocytozoon bieneusi; immunosuppression; renal transplant recipients; urinary tract