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Molecular diagnostic tests for microsporidia

Kaya Ghosh1, Louis M Weiss

  • 1Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases
|August 7, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Microsporidia are fungal-related parasites infecting animals and humans, often causing gastrointestinal issues. Recent advancements focus on molecular diagnostic tests for accurate identification of these difficult-to-diagnose pathogens.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Parasitology
  • Mycology

Background:

  • Microsporidia are ubiquitous, obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites related to Fungi.
  • They infect diverse animal hosts, commonly as gastrointestinal pathogens, with spores found in environmental sources.
  • Human infections are primarily caused by Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review molecular diagnostic tests for human-infecting microsporidia.
  • To highlight progress in identifying these challenging pathogens.

Main Methods:

  • Review of published literature on molecular diagnostic methods for microsporidia.
  • Focus on tests for Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon species.

Main Results:

  • Significant progress in developing molecular diagnostic reagents over the last decade.
  • Various molecular tests have been described for microsporidia identification.

Conclusions:

  • Molecular diagnostics offer improved identification of microsporidia in humans.
  • Continued development is crucial for managing these opportunistic infections.

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