Transplant recipients have been identified as a new risk group for microsporidia infection. We characterize for the first time the prevalence of microsporidia in intestinal and urinary tracts of renal transplant recipients. Molecular examination of 86 patients showed that 25.5% of them were infected; 86% were confirmed to have pathogens in their urine and 45.5% in stool. Among positive patients, 32% had microsporidia confirmed in both urine and stool. Genotyping revealed Encephalitozoon cuniculi (59%) and Enterocytozoon bieneusi (23%) monoinfections as well as coinfections with both species (18%). Moreover, we found diarrhoea and fever as symptoms significantly associated with microsporidia presence. Our results indicate that microsporidial infection should be considered in the assessment of renal transplant recipients, especially in the urinary tract, even if asymptomatic. Molecular identification of microsporidia species is relevant because of their different susceptibility for treatment.

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences v v i Institute of Parasitology Czech Republic

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences v v i Institute of Parasitology Czech Republic; University of South Bohemia Faculty of Agriculture České Budějovice Czech Republic

Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology Wroclaw Medical University Wroclaw Poland

Department of Nephrology and Transplantation Medicine Wroclaw Medical University Wroclaw Poland

References provided by Crossref.org

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