Ukwah Boniface Nwofoke, Ezeonu Ifeoma Maureen, Ezeonu Chinonyelum Thecla, Roellig Dawn, Xiao Lihua
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria.
J Infect Dev Ctries. 2017 Feb 28;11(2):173-179. doi: 10.3855/jidc.8034.
Cryptosporidiosis is a common disease of children and immune-compromised persons. This study evaluated the diversity and distribution of Cryptosporidium species in diarrheal children and HIV-infected persons on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and those not on HAART.
A total of 394 fecal specimens were collected from patients attending clinics in Nsukka and Ebonyi, Nigeria. Detection and identification of Cryptosporidium species were conducted by PCR-RFLP of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene, whereas subtyping was done by sequence analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene.
Twenty-five (6.3%) specimens yielded four Cryptosporidium species, including C. hominis, C. parvum, C. felis, and C. viatorum. C. hominis was the most dominant species with 48.0% occurrence and three identified subtype families: Ia (six specimens), Ib (three specimens), Ie (two specimens), and one un-subtyped species. C. parvum had 44.0% occurrence and two subtype families: IIc (eight specimens) and IIe (three specimens), while C. felis and C. viatorum each had 4.0% occurrence. There were significant differences in Cryptosporidium species distribution between age groups in children and HIV-infected persons, between suburban and urban areas, and between low and high CD4+ cell counts in HIV-infected patients. There were no significant differences in infection rate and species distribution between HIV-infected patients on HAART and those not on HAART.
The results from this study show that there is a high diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. in humans in Ebonyi and Nsukka, Nigeria, and that all the C. parvum subtypes identified are most likely anthroponotic in origin.
隐孢子虫病是儿童和免疫功能低下者的常见疾病。本研究评估了腹泻儿童以及接受高效抗逆转录病毒治疗（HAART）和未接受HAART的HIV感染者中隐孢子虫种类的多样性和分布情况。
从尼日利亚Nsukka和Ebonyi的诊所就诊患者中总共收集了394份粪便标本。通过小亚基（SSU）rRNA基因的PCR-RFLP进行隐孢子虫种类的检测和鉴定，而亚型分析则通过60 kDa糖蛋白（gp60）基因的序列分析进行。
25份（6.3%）标本检出4种隐孢子虫，包括人隐孢子虫、微小隐孢子虫、猫隐孢子虫和路氏隐孢子虫。人隐孢子虫是最主要的种类，占比48.0%，鉴定出3个亚型家族：Ia（6份标本）、Ib（3份标本）、Ie（2份标本），以及1个未分型的种类。微小隐孢子虫占比44.0%，有2个亚型家族：IIc（8份标本）和IIe（3份标本），而猫隐孢子虫和路氏隐孢子虫各占4.0%。儿童和HIV感染者的不同年龄组之间、郊区和城市地区之间以及HIV感染患者的低和高CD4 +细胞计数之间，隐孢子虫种类分布存在显著差异。接受HAART的HIV感染患者和未接受HAART的患者之间，感染率和种类分布没有显著差异。
本研究结果表明，在尼日利亚Ebonyi和Nsukka的人群中，隐孢子虫种类具有高度多样性，并且鉴定出的所有微小隐孢子虫亚型很可能起源于人类。
