Development of a Real‐Time Polymerase‐Chain‐Reaction Assay for Quantitative Detection ofEnterocytozoon bieneusiDNA in Stool Specimens from Immunocompromised Patients with Intestinal Microsporidiosis

A new real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed for quantitation of Enterocytozoon bieneusi DNA in sequential stool specimens from immunocompromised patients with intestinal microsporidiosis. Patients were treated with fumagillin (n=6) or with placebo (n=6), in a randomized comparative trial. At baseline, mean E. bieneusi DNA levels were not significantly different in stool specimens from the placebo group, compared with those from the fumagillin group (5.9+/-0.4 vs. 5.9+/-0.6 log(10) copies/microL of stool suspension, respectively; P=.96). In the placebo group, parasitic burden remained stable during follow-up (P=.46), whereas, in the fumagillin group, E. bieneusi DNA levels dropped below the lower limit of detection in all patients (mean reduction from baseline, -4.7 log(10) copies; P