Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Aug 24;49(1):66.
doi: 10.1186/s41182-021-00355-7.

The global molecular epidemiology of microsporidia infection in sheep and goats with focus on Enterocytozoon bieneusi: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ali Taghipour  1 , Saeed Bahadory  2 , Ehsan Javanmard  3
Affiliations
Review

The global molecular epidemiology of microsporidia infection in sheep and goats with focus on Enterocytozoon bieneusi: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ali Taghipour et al. Trop Med Health. .

Abstract

Background: Microsporidia is a zoonotic pathogen with health consequences in immunocompromised patients. Small ruminants are a potential reservoir of microsporidia for humans in their vicinity. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the molecular prevalence of microsporidian infections with emphasis on Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotypes among sheep and goats at a global scale through systematic review and meta-analysis approach.

Methods: The standard protocol of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Eligible prevalence studies on small ruminant microsporidiosis, published from 1 January 2000 until 15 April 2021 were gathered using systematic literature search in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. The point estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using a random-effects model. The variance between studies (heterogeneity) was quantified by I2 index.

Results: In total, 25 articles (including 34 datasets) were included for final meta-analysis. The pooled molecular prevalence of microsporidia in sheep and goats was estimated to be 17.4% (95% CI: 11.8-25%) and 16% (95% CI: 11.2-22.4%), respectively. Likewise, the overall prevalence of E. bieneusi was estimated to be 17.4% (95% CI: 11.8-25%) for sheep and 16.3% (95% CI: 11.3-22.8%) for goats. According to internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene analysis, E. bieneusi with genotypes BEB6 (15 studies) and COS-1 (nine studies) in sheep, and CHG3 (six studies) and BEB6 (five studies) in goats were the highest reported genotypes.

Conclusion: The present results highlight the role of sheep and goats as reservoir hosts for human-infecting microsporidia. Therefore, this global estimate could be beneficial on preventive and control measures.

Keywords: Enterocytozoon bieneusi; Goat; Meta-analysis; Microsporidia; Sheep.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram describing included/excluded studies
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The pooled molecular prevalence of E. bieneusi infection in sheep
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The pooled molecular prevalence of E. bieneusi infection in goats
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Didier ES. Microsporidiosis: an emerging and opportunistic infection in humans and animals. Acta Trop. 2005;94(1):61–76. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2005.01.010. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Weiss LM. Microsporidia: emerging pathogenic protists. Acta Trop. 2001;78(2):89–102. doi: 10.1016/S0001-706X(00)00178-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wang SS, Wang RJ, Fan XC, Liu TL, Zhang LX, Zhao GH. Prevalence and genotypes of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in China. Acta Trop. 2018;1(183):142–152. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2018.04.017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Izquierdo F, Hermida JAC, Fenoy S, Mezo M, González-Warleta M, del Aguila C. Detection of microsporidia in drinking water, wastewater and recreational rivers. Water Res. 2011;45(16):4837–4843. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2011.06.033. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yildirim Y, Al S, Duzlu O, Onmaz NE, Onder Z, Yetismis G, et al. Enterocytozoon bieneusi in raw milk of cattle, sheep and water buffalo in Turkey: Genotype distributions and zoonotic concerns. Int J Food Microbiol. 2020;2(334):108828. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2020.108828. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources