TRANSMISSION AND SERIAL PROPAGATION OF ENTEROCYTOZOON-BIENEUSI FROM HUMANS AND RHESUS MACAQUES IN GNOTOBIOTIC PIGLETS

Far over a decade Enterocytozoon bieneusi infections in people with AI DS have been linked with chronic diarrhea and wasting. The slow scient ific progress in treating these infections is attributed to the inabil ity of investigators to cultivate the parasite, which has also preclud ed evaluation of effective therapies. We report here successful serial transmissions off. bieneusi from patients with AIDS and from macaques with AIDS to immunosuppressed gnotobiotic piglets. One infected pigle t,vas still excreting spores at necropsy 50 days after an oral challen ge. Spores in feces were detected microscopically by trichrome stain a nd by PCR and,within enterocytes by in situ hybridization and immunohi stochemistry. E. bieneusi infection induced no symptoms. The developme nt of an animal model for E. bieneusi will open up new opportunities f or investigating this parasite.