Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Animal Products on Biohazards (Shanghai) of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 200241, China.
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Changji, 831100, Xinjiang, China.
Parasit Vectors. 2018 Nov 12;11(1):587. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-3178-9.
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a common species of microsporidia that not only influences human health but also threatens animal productive performance and value. However, there have been no systematic studies of the prevalence of E. bieneusi in sheep in China.
A total of 953 fecal specimens were collected from sheep from 11 provinces across five regions of China and analyzed for E. bieneusi by nested PCR targeting the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Enterocytozoon bieneusi infections were detected in four regions, with an overall infection rate of 20.4% (194/953). The highest infection rate was detected in pre-weaned lambs (25.0%), followed by post-weaned lambs (22.2%) and adult sheep (14.6%). Enterocytozoon bieneusi was found in nine of the 11 tested provinces, with infection rates between 2.9-51.7%. Eleven genotypes were identified based on ITS analysis, including seven known genotypes (BEB6, CHG1, CHG3, CHS7, CHS8, COS-I and NESH5) and four novel genotypes (CHHLJS1, CHHLJS2, CHNXS1 and CHXJS1). All 11 genotypes were clustered into group 2, and the zoonotic genotype BEB6 was the dominant genotype (n = 129, 66.5%) in sheep.
The prevalence of E. bieneusi was studied in five regions representing most areas where sheep are bred in China. This is the first report of E. bieneusi infection in sheep for seven Chinese provinces. Geographical differences were detected in the distribution of E. bieneusi genotypes, but no differences were found among sheep in different age groups. The zoonotic genotype BEB6 was the dominant genotype, indicating that sheep are a potential source of zoonotic microsporidiosis in China. These results improve our knowledge of the epidemiology of E. bieneusi in sheep in China.
肠微孢子虫（Enterocytozoon bieneusi）是一种常见的微孢子虫，不仅影响人类健康，还威胁着动物的生产性能和价值。然而，目前还没有针对中国绵羊中肠微孢子虫流行情况的系统研究。
从中国五个地区 11 个省的绵羊中采集了 953 份粪便样本，通过针对核糖体内部转录间隔区（ITS）的巢式 PCR 分析检测肠微孢子虫。在中国四个地区检测到了肠微孢子虫感染，总感染率为 20.4%（194/953）。在未断奶羔羊中检测到的感染率最高（25.0%），其次是断奶羔羊（22.2%）和成年绵羊（14.6%）。在 11 个检测省份中发现了 9 个省份存在肠微孢子虫感染，感染率在 2.9%-51.7%之间。根据 ITS 分析鉴定了 11 种基因型，包括 7 种已知基因型（BEB6、CHG1、CHG3、CHS7、CHS8、COS-I 和 NESH5）和 4 种新型基因型（CHHLJS1、CHHLJS2、CHNXS1 和 CHXJS1）。所有 11 种基因型均聚类为第 2 组，绵羊中优势基因型为动物源基因型 BEB6（n=129，占 66.5%）。
本研究对代表中国大部分绵羊养殖地区的五个地区的肠微孢子虫感染情况进行了研究。这是首次报道中国七个省份的绵羊感染肠微孢子虫。在肠微孢子虫基因型的分布上存在地理差异，但不同年龄组绵羊之间没有差异。动物源基因型 BEB6 是优势基因型，表明绵羊是中国动物源性微孢子虫病的潜在传染源。这些结果提高了我们对中国绵羊中肠微孢子虫流行情况的认识。
