POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION AND CULTURE CONFIRMATION OF DISSEMINATED ENCEPHALITOZOON-CUNICULI IN A PATIENT WITH AIDS - SUCCESSFUL THERAPY WITH ALBENDAZOLE

Infections due to microsporidia are being recognized increasingly, esp ecially in AIDS patients. A patient with disseminated microsporidiosis with advanced renal failure due to Encephalitozoon cuniculi (confirme d by culture and polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) is described. The or ganism from urine and sputum was characterized by culture, Weber's chr omotrope-based staining, transmission electron microscopy, and indirec t immunofluorescence (IIF) tests. PCR was done on DNA extracted from t he infected cell cultures. Treatment with albendazole resulted in impr ovement in serum creatinine levels, complete disappearance of spores f rom sputum, a negative urine culture, and a 3-log decline in the numbe r of spores in the urine, as evidenced by chromotrope-based staining. IIF and PCR were used to confirm E. cuniculi as the etiologic agent. O ur findings indicate that disseminated microsporidiosis with renal fai lure in AIDS is treatable.