Słodkowicz-Kowalska Anna, Graczyk Thaddeus K, Nowosad Andrzej, Majewska Anna C
Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2013;20(1):13-5.
Microsporidia are single-celled intracellular parasites which occur in a number of animals, both vertebrates and invertebrates. Several species of microsporidia can cause disease in humans in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. However, the sources of human infection and the routes of transmission of microsporidia have not yet been fully determined, although more and more researchers are of the opinion that microsporidia in humans is zoonotic. The aim of the presented study was to identify the most common microsporidial species in the droppings of raised and wild pigeons in Poland. A total of 139 collective samples of droppings (33 samples of droppings from feral pigeons and 106 samples from raised pigeons) were examined using conventional staining and molecular techniques. Using chromotrope staining and multiplex FISH techniques, the microsporidial spores were found in 12 (8.6%) of the 139 samples of droppings. The spores of Encephalitozoon hellem were detected in five samples of pigeon droppings (3.6%), spores of E. intestinalis in four samples of droppings (2.9%), while spores of E. cuniculi and E. bieneusi were only detected in two samples (1.4%). Furthermore, a mixed infection of E. bieneusi and E. cuniculi was found in a single sample of droppings (0.7%). The presence of microsporidial spores in droppings collected from raised pigeons indicates a risk of infection to humans, mainly pigeon fanciers.
微孢子虫是单细胞的细胞内寄生虫，存在于许多动物体内，包括脊椎动物和无脊椎动物。几种微孢子虫可在免疫功能低下和免疫功能正常的个体中引起人类疾病。然而，人类感染微孢子虫的来源和传播途径尚未完全确定，尽管越来越多的研究人员认为人类体内的微孢子虫是动物源性的。本研究的目的是确定波兰饲养和野生鸽子粪便中最常见的微孢子虫种类。使用传统染色和分子技术对总共139份粪便集体样本（33份野生鸽子粪便样本和106份饲养鸽子粪便样本）进行了检测。使用变色酸染色和多重荧光原位杂交技术，在139份粪便样本中的12份（8.6%）中发现了微孢子虫孢子。在5份鸽子粪便样本（3.6%）中检测到了海伦脑炎微孢子虫的孢子，在4份粪便样本（2.9%）中检测到了肠脑炎微孢子虫的孢子，而仅在2份样本（1.4%）中检测到了兔脑炎微孢子虫和贝氏脑炎微孢子虫的孢子。此外，在一份粪便样本（0.7%）中发现了贝氏脑炎微孢子虫和兔脑炎微孢子虫的混合感染。从饲养鸽子收集的粪便中存在微孢子虫孢子表明对人类，主要是养鸽人存在感染风险。
