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Invasive microsporidiosis in allogeneic haematopoietic SCT recipients

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 45, pages 1249–1251 (2010)Cite this article

Microsporidia are opportunistic pathogens causing localized and disseminated disease in immunocompromised and especially in AIDS patients.1, 2 Although classically considered as parasites, taxonomy is under revision and genome molecular analyses have shown that microsporidia may be closely related to fungi.3 Two main genera are recognized: Enterocytozoon spp., responsible for approximately 80-90% of the clinically symptomatic infections, which are mainly localized, and Encephalytoyzoon spp., responsible of approximately 10% of infections with a higher tendency to disseminate.2 Localized infections affect the digestive tract more frequently (chronic diarrhoea or biliary tract involvement). Disseminated infection can involve the lungs and the central nervous system (CNS).2

In the era preceding highly active antiretroviral therapy, microsporidia were an important cause of diarrhoea in AIDS patients; nowadays its incidence has decreased.2 Infection in solid organ transplant recipients is rare, with some case reports and small series published.4, 5 Only two cases of pulmonary infection have been reported in allogeneic haematopoietic SCT (allo-HSCT) recipients, both with fatal outcomes.6, 7 Here we report the first case of an allo-HSCT recipient who survived disseminated microsporidiosis infection with gut, pulmonary and CNS involvement.

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Acknowledgements

This study was performed without any financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Service of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland

    J Ambrosioni, C van Delden & K H Krause

  2. Department of Genetics and Laboratory of Microbiology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland

    C Bouchuiguir-Wafa

  3. Department of Medicine, Service of Haematology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland

    M Nagy, J Passweg & Y Chalandon

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  1. J Ambrosioni
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  2. C van Delden
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  7. Y Chalandon
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Correspondence to C van Delden.

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Ambrosioni, J., van Delden, C., Krause, K. et al. Invasive microsporidiosis in allogeneic haematopoietic SCT recipients. Bone Marrow Transplant 45, 1249–1251 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2009.315

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