THE SEROLOGICAL SURVEILLANCE OF SEVERAL GROUPS OF PATIENTS USING ANTIGENS OF ENCEPHALITOZOON HELLEM AND E-CUNICULI ANTIBODIES TO MICROSPORIDIA IN PATIENTS

This study was undertaken to attempt to identify correlations between microsporidial seroprevalence data in I-nan, clinical diseases and gro ups of people at the risk of HIV/AIDS infection. Groups of patients we re selected according to the predilection of members of the genus Ence phalitozoon for nervous and kidney tissue. Female prostitutes and alco hol and intravenous drug abusers were selected as groups at risk of HI V/AIDS infections. A total of 401 samples of human sera were examined for the presence of antimicrosporidial Ige antibodies by ELISA test wi th a titre of 600 considered borderline positivity. The highest occurr ence of antimicrosporidial antibodies was found in the groups of alcoh ol abusers (16 % from 43 patients), intravenous drug abusers (11 % fro m 9 patients) and prostitutes (10 % from 80 women) for E. cuniculi ant igen and in the groups of psychiatric patients (14 % from 44 patients) . malaria patients (11 % from 38 patients) and alcohol abusers (7 % fr om 43 patients) for E. hellem antigen. The occurrence of specific anti bodies of the six examined diagnostic units (glomerulonephritis chroni ca, pyelonephritis chronica, schizophrenia, dementia, multiple scleros is and cerebral stroke) was statistically significant only in patients with pyelonephritis chronica and dementia (p < 0.05). No cases of mic rosporidial infection were found among the female prostitutes by paras itological examination, although one case of giardiasis was identified . Sera of patients with high anti-E, cuniculi and anti-E. hellem antib odies (titres in ELISA of 600 and above) were confirmed by Western blo t using E. cuniculi and E. hellem polypeptides, respectively. These re sults suggest that the examined patients could show residual antibodie s from past or latent infections.