EXOone Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Description

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is an obligate intracellular parasite belonging to the phylum Microsporidia; It can infect mammals including humans in which is an important opportunist agent, especially within immunocompromised specimens, causing diarrhea, rhinosinusitis, keratoconjunctivitis, nephritis or hepatitis. The main host is rabbit, and infections can course subclinically. Nervous system, kidney and eye are the preferred targets of E. cuniculi.
E. cuniculi spores can be excreted in high quantities by urine. These spores are very resistant in environment and can infect water, food and other sources that could reach human consume.
Conventional methods such as serology and microscopy are reported as unreliable for diagnosis of encephalitozoonosis in domestic rabbits. qPCR technique appears as a opportunity to apply a sensitive and specific tool in the detection and identification of this parasite.