Zoonotic Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotypes found in brazilian sheep

- First report of E. bieneusi in sheep in Brazil
- 19.2% of the sheep examined were positive Enterocytozoon bieneusi.
- A significant greater number of lambs were infected than older sheep.
- 6 genotypes identified with 3 of those described previously in humans.
- Sheep could contribute to the transmission of E. bieneusi to humans.

The presence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in sheep has been reported in only three countries worldwide. The present study has found E. bieneusi in Brazilian sheep for the first time; in 24/125 (19.2%) fecal samples by PCR and on 8/10 (80%) farms from three diverse locations. A significantly greater number of lambs (34.1%) were found infected than older sheep (11.1%) (P = 0.0036); most of the lambs were less than 6 months of age. Farms with an intensive production system had a lower infection rate (10.5%) of infection than semi-intensive farms (23%), but this difference was not statistically significant. Sequencing analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA gene revealed four known E. bieneusi genotypes (BEB6, BEB7, I, and LW1) and two novel genotypes (BEB18 and BEB19). Genotypes LW1 and BEB19 clustered within designated zoonotic Group 1 while genotypes BEB6, BEB7, I, and BEB18, and clustered within Group 2. BEB6 was the most prevalent (45.8%), followed by BEB7 (33.3%). Genotypes BEB6, I, and LW1 are zoonotic and can pose a risk to human health for immunocompromised individuals.