{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T10:53:44Z","timestamp":1784199224372,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,25]],"date-time":"2025-06-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750809600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a microsporidian widely spread in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and other species, including humans, causative of neurological disorders or remaining in a latent state in the host organism. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of E. cuniculi in rabbits located in the North-Western region of Romania, and to run a comparative diagnosis for E. cuniculi by multiple methods. A total of 381 rabbits were included, originating from households, family farms and wildlife, which were subjected to serological and\/or molecular genetics diagnostic methods for E. cuniculi identification. Seropositivity of 43.02% (151\/351) was obtained by ELISA, together with a 45.45% (110\/242) prevalence from urine, feces and organs by nested PCR. Additionally, a prevalence of 48.39% (15\/31) was identified by a comparative real-time PCR (qPCR). The urinary bladder is firstly reported for molecular E. cuniculi diagnosis, with a positivity of 30.56% (11\/36) by nested PCR. Despite the disagreement between the diagnostic methods, the present results highlight the level of pathogen dissemination among rabbits in North-Western Romania that represents a risk for not only rabbits and other animals, but also for the general public by its zoonotic character.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms13071478","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,26]],"date-time":"2025-06-26T03:39:59Z","timestamp":1750909199000},"page":"1478","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Comparative Evaluation of the Serological Methods and the Molecular Genetics Techniques for the Diagnosis of Encephalitozoon cuniculi in Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9211-8940","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anca-Alexandra","family":"Dobo\u0219i","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics and Hereditary Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6532-6595","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anamaria Ioana","family":"Pa\u0219tiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics and Hereditary Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0622-0963","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sanda","family":"Andrei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5234-8039","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dana Liana","family":"Pusta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics and Hereditary Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2463","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-022-07562-z","article-title":"A Multidisciplinary Review about Encephalitozoon cuniculi in a One Health Perspective","volume":"Volume 121","author":"Pinto","year":"2022","journal-title":"Parasitology Research"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dobosi, A.A., Bel, L.V., Pastiu, A.I., and Pusta, D.L. 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