{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:13:47Z","timestamp":1760145227593,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,25]],"date-time":"2024-06-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1719273600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT\u2013Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2022.15408.BD","2021.09461.BD"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022.15408.BD","2021.09461.BD"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Enterocytozoon bieneusi, an intracellular eukaryote closely related to fungi, is recognized as a significant pathogen affecting humans, particularly those with compromised immune systems. While its transmission routes are still not fully elucidated, fecal\u2013oral transmission remains the primary one. With a wide host range, the zoonotic potential of E. bieneusi is a concern, albeit direct evidence of animal-to-human transmission remains scarce. Genotyping based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region facilitates the delineation of genetic diversity, with potentially zoonotic genotypes predominantly associated with Groups 1 and 2. Despite the broad spectrum of susceptible animal hosts, research into microsporidian infection among zoo animals remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of E. bieneusi infection across diverse captive animals, focusing on zoo settings in Portugal. Fecal samples were collected from a variety of animals, and molecular detection of E. bieneusi was conducted using nested PCR targeting the ITS region. Of 127 fecal samples, 1.57% (95% CI: 0.19\u20135.57) tested positive for E. bieneusi, with non-human primates (NHP\u2019s) exhibiting an 18.18% (95% CI: 2.28\u201351.78) occurrence. Phylogenetic analysis revealed clustering within Group 2 genotypes, indicating potential zoonotic implications. This study highlights the need for further research to understand the epidemiology of E. bieneusi in zoo environments and its potential transmission pathways to humans.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14131874","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,25]],"date-time":"2024-06-25T12:46:56Z","timestamp":1719319616000},"page":"1874","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Detection of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Non-Human Primates in Portuguese Zoos"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-2828-7202","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guilherme","family":"Moreira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0091-2013","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreia V. S.","family":"Cruz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9742-5643","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00e9rgio","family":"Santos-Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Rafaela S. S.","family":"Moreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8769-8103","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o R.","family":"Mesquita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Epidemiology Research Unit (EPIUnit), Instituto de Sa\u00fade P\u00fablica da Universidade do Porto, 4050-600 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), 4050-600 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e00010-20","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00010-20","article-title":"Microsporidiosis in Humans","volume":"34","author":"Han","year":"2021","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. 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