Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 79(4), 2008, pp. 579-580
Copyright © 2008 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
SHORT REPORT
Presence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi Associated with Intestinal Coccidia in Patients with Chronic Diarrhea Visiting an HIV Center in Haiti
Christian P. Raccurt*,
Bernadette Fouché,
Patrice Agnamey,
Jean Menotti,
Taïeb Chouaki,
Anne Totet, AND
Jean W. Pape
Service de Parasitologie et Mycologie Médicales, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire dAmiens, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France; Groupe Haïtien dÉtude du Syndrome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes (GHESKIO), Port-au-Prince, Haïti; Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Université de Paris 6, Paris, France; Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the presence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi as a possible cause of chronic diarrhea in Haitian patients attending the GHESKIO AIDS clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Coccidian oocysts were found by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the stools of 58/74 patients with chronic diarrhea and included the following agents: 45 (60%) Cryptosporidium spp., 27 (34%) Cyclospora cayetanensis, and 11 (15%) Isospora belli. Four patients (5.5%) were co-infected with E. bieneusi and one (1.4%) had E. bieneusi alone. The PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method made it possible to document the presence in human feces of E. bieneusi in Haiti. As in sub-Saharan Africa, the association of E. bieneusi with coccidian parasites found in Haitian patients with diarrhea is probably caused by the high level of fecal contamination of soils and surface waters usually associated with countries with low hygienic standards.
Received April 15, 2008.
Accepted for publication June 20, 2008.
* Address correspondence to Christian P. Raccurt, Service de Parasitologie et Mycologie Médicales, Hôpital Sud, CHU dAmiens, 80054 Amiens, France. E-mails: raccurt.christian{at}chuamiens.fr or raccurt{at}yahoo.fr
Authors addresses: Christian Raccurt, Patrice Agnamey, Taieb Chouaki, and Anne Totet, Service de parasitologie et mycologie médicales, CHU dAmiens, Hôpital Sud, avenue Laënnec, Salouel, 80054 Amiens, France. Bernadette Fouché and Jean W. Pape, Les Centres GHESKIO, 33, Boulevard Harry Truman, Cité de lExposition, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Jean Menotti, Laboratoire de parasitologiemycologie, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 1, rue Claude Velle-faux, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France.
Copyright © 2008 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.