Microsporidiosis and Cryptosporidiosis in HIV/AIDS Patients in St. Petersburg, Russia: Serological Identification of Microsporidia and Cryptosporidium parvum in Sera Samples from HIV/AIDS Patients

To determine seroprevalence of the opportunistic organisms Cryptosporidium parvum and microsporidia (Encephalitozoon cuniculi, E. intestinalis, E. hellem, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi) in Russian HIV/AIDS patients, we evaluated 46 sera from HIV/AIDS patients from the S.P. Botkin Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital, St. Petersburg, Russia. Five (10.9%) sera were seropositive for E. cuniculi and 19 (41.3%) were positive for C. parvum by ELISA. By IFAT, 6 (13.0%) sera were seropositive for E. bieneusi, 4 (8.7%) for E. intestinalis, and 9 (19.6%) for E. hellem. This study is the first report to estimate the prevalence of infection with Cryptosporidium and microsporidia among Russian HIV/AIDS patients.