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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Sequencing of Bacterial Microflora in Peripheral Blood: our Experience with HIV-infected Patients
Published on: June 11, 2011
Incidental finding of a microsporidian parasite from an AIDS patient
R J McDougall1, M W Tandy, R E Boreham
1Microbiology Department, Drs. Sullivan, Nicolaides and Partners, Taringa, Brisbane, Australia.
Abstract:
Light microscopic examination of feces from a human immunodeficiency virus-positive patient with chronic diarrhea, anorexia, and lethargy revealed the presence of numerous refractile bodies resembling microsporidian spores. They were subsequently identified as belonging to the genus Nosema on the basis of their ultrastructural characteristics. However, the microsporidia were enclosed within striated muscle cells, suggesting that they were probably ingested in food; thus, this represented an incidental finding rather than a true infection.
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