Disseminated Microsporidiosis due to Encephalitozoon hellem in an Egyptian Fruit Bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus)

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Disseminated microsporidiosis was diagnosed in an adult female Egyptian fruit bat that died unexpectedly in a zoo. Gross ¢ndings, which were minimal, included poor body condition, bilateral renomegaly, and mottling of the liver. Histopathological lesions, which were particularly pronounced in the urogenital tract and liver, consisted primarily of in£ammation associated with intracytoplasmic microsporidian spores. Polymerase chain reaction based methods were used to establish the identity of the microsporidian as Encephalitozoon hellem. E. hellem is an emerging cause of human and avian disease, manifested mainly as opportunistic infection in immunosuppressed patients. This report describes the ¢rst documented case of E. hellem in a non-human mammalian species.