By employing 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-NN',N"-triacetylchitotriose substrate in a semi quantitative assay, chitinolytic activity in viable spores of Encephalitozoon cuniculi and E. intestinalis was detected and dependence on reaction time, spore concentration, concentration of substrate and temperature were demonstrated. It was possible to block the chitinolytic activity by chitin hydrolysate...

Abstract: Two hundred and seventeen captive great apes (150 chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes; 14 bonobos, Pan paniscus; 53 western gorillas, Gorilla gorilla) and 20 personnel from thirteen European zoos and two African sanctuaries were sampled and examined in order to determine the occurrence ofEnterocytozoon bieneusi and species of Encephalitozoon in faecal specimens and to compare the epidemiolog...

Encephalitozoon intestinalis (Septata intestinalis) is the second most prevalent microsporidian species infecting humans, but it has not been described in other animal species. This investigation examined 10 domestic animal stool samples (8 mammalian, 2 avian) containing spores detected by anti-Encephalitozoon monoclonal antibody immunofluorescence (FA). The presence of E. intestinalis but not ...

Microsporidia of the Encephalitozoon species are frequently found as opportunistic pathogens of immunocompromised patients, but very little is known about the prevalence and significance of Encephalitozoon infection in immunocompetent individuals. It was reported previously that 8% of Dutch blood donors and 5% of pregnant French women had an immunoglobulin G (IgG) immune response against specif...

i Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii List of Tables vi List of Figures vii

Antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using E. cuniculi PTP2 recombinant protein from serum samples that had been collected from a total of 295 cats in Japan. Of these samples, 6.1% (18/295) had antibodies against E. cuniculi, which included 6.3% (6/96) of the male cats and 6.0% (12/199) of the female cats. The incidence was slig...

In the light of the increased incidence of human Encephalitozoon infections and the absence of an established treatment protocol, a simple in vitro testing method to compare activities of drugs against Encephalitozoon cuniculi was developed. With this in vitro method, the 50% inhibitory concentrations of fumagillin, thiabendazole, albendazole, oxibendazole, and propamidine isethionate for E. cu...

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a microsporidian parasite commonly found in rabbits that can infect humans, causing encephalitozoonosis. The prevalence of encephalitozoonosis is not well documented, even when many clinics suspect pet rabbits as being highly infected. This study investigated the seropositivity of E. cuniculi using ELISA. The examination of 186 rabbits using ELISA showed that 22.6% (...

Thoracic fluid from 206 and 220 foxes were examined for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum using indirect immunofluorescent antibody tests (IFAT). A total 115 (56%) and six (3%) foxes had antibodies to T. gondii and N. caninum respectively. The brains from 148 foxes were examined for histological lesions and pathological changes suggestive of parasitic encephalitis were observ...

Encephalitozoon cuniculi has been associated with natural cases of abortion and stillbirth in horses. However, little is known about the prevalence of this parasite in horses. We examined sera from 559 horses from Brazil for antibodies to E. cuniculi using the indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test and the direct agglutination test (DAT). We found that 79 (14.1%) were positive in the IF...