Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia

Most studies of opportunistic infections focus on immunocompromised patients. However, there is a lack of information on microsporidiosis in healthy people (immunocompetent) worldwide. This study aimed to detect and identify microsporidia species in immunocompetent Orang Asli living in Pahang, Malay...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology International
Main Author: Ashikin A.; Al-Mekhlafi H.M.; Moktar N.; Anuar T.S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ireland Ltd 2017
Online Access:https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85010197172&doi=10.1016%2fj.parint.2017.01.013&partnerID=40&md5=ce1116c893da11a6ff17edccfd799025
id 2-s2.0-85010197172
spelling 2-s2.0-85010197172
Ashikin A.; Al-Mekhlafi H.M.; Moktar N.; Anuar T.S.
Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia
2017
Parasitology International
66
2
10.1016/j.parint.2017.01.013
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85010197172&doi=10.1016%2fj.parint.2017.01.013&partnerID=40&md5=ce1116c893da11a6ff17edccfd799025
Most studies of opportunistic infections focus on immunocompromised patients. However, there is a lack of information on microsporidiosis in healthy people (immunocompetent) worldwide. This study aimed to detect and identify microsporidia species in immunocompetent Orang Asli living in Pahang, Malaysia. Orang Asli is a collective term for a group of indigenous people that usually reside in the interior regions of Peninsular Malaysia. They comprise about 0.7% of the total population in Malaysia and 76% of them lived below the poverty line i.e., poor housing conditions with the lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, contaminated environment, high illiteracy rate and unhygienic practices by these people. Stool samples were collected from 209 Orang Asli and analyzed for detecting the presence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis by polymerase chain reaction assay targeting small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. E. bieneusi was detected in 8 individuals (3.83%). This infection was commonly found in males than females (5.2% vs. 2.7%). All infected Orang Asli were adults, with a mean age of 44 years. Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms were reported in one case (12.5%) among individuals infected with this species. These findings clearly show that exposure to E. bieneusi may actually be common than reported. The accurate detection and identification of microsporidian species by molecular technique will improve therapy, clinical manifestations and prognosis of this infection, as no antiparasitic therapy has been approved for E. bieneusi. It is hoped that these findings will allow the formulation of better health management and disease prevention advisories, and improvement in the standards of health in similar communities. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.
Elsevier Ireland Ltd
13835769
English
Article

author Ashikin A.; Al-Mekhlafi H.M.; Moktar N.; Anuar T.S.
spellingShingle Ashikin A.; Al-Mekhlafi H.M.; Moktar N.; Anuar T.S.
Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia
author_facet Ashikin A.; Al-Mekhlafi H.M.; Moktar N.; Anuar T.S.
author_sort Ashikin A.; Al-Mekhlafi H.M.; Moktar N.; Anuar T.S.
title Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia
title_short Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia
title_full Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia
title_fullStr Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia
title_sort Molecular detection and species identification of Enterocytozoon bieneusi isolated from immunocompetent Orang Asli in Malaysia
publishDate 2017
container_title Parasitology International
container_volume 66
container_issue 2
doi_str_mv 10.1016/j.parint.2017.01.013
url https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85010197172&doi=10.1016%2fj.parint.2017.01.013&partnerID=40&md5=ce1116c893da11a6ff17edccfd799025
description Most studies of opportunistic infections focus on immunocompromised patients. However, there is a lack of information on microsporidiosis in healthy people (immunocompetent) worldwide. This study aimed to detect and identify microsporidia species in immunocompetent Orang Asli living in Pahang, Malaysia. Orang Asli is a collective term for a group of indigenous people that usually reside in the interior regions of Peninsular Malaysia. They comprise about 0.7% of the total population in Malaysia and 76% of them lived below the poverty line i.e., poor housing conditions with the lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, contaminated environment, high illiteracy rate and unhygienic practices by these people. Stool samples were collected from 209 Orang Asli and analyzed for detecting the presence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis by polymerase chain reaction assay targeting small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. E. bieneusi was detected in 8 individuals (3.83%). This infection was commonly found in males than females (5.2% vs. 2.7%). All infected Orang Asli were adults, with a mean age of 44 years. Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms were reported in one case (12.5%) among individuals infected with this species. These findings clearly show that exposure to E. bieneusi may actually be common than reported. The accurate detection and identification of microsporidian species by molecular technique will improve therapy, clinical manifestations and prognosis of this infection, as no antiparasitic therapy has been approved for E. bieneusi. It is hoped that these findings will allow the formulation of better health management and disease prevention advisories, and improvement in the standards of health in similar communities. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.
publisher Elsevier Ireland Ltd
issn 13835769
language English
format Article
accesstype
record_format scopus
collection Scopus
_version_ 1814778508448104448