Cyclospora and Cyclosporiasis: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Detection, and Control

By Long Zhang, Rong-Jun Wang, Guang-Hui Zhao and Jun-Qiang Li

Cyclospora cayetanensis is a microscopic parasite that can be transmitted via food or water sources and causes intestinal disease (Cyclosporiasis) in humans. Cyclospora and Cyclosporiasis: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Detection, and Control reviews 22 species of Cyclospora and discusses C. cayetanensis infection in humans.

This book offers comprehensive coverage that includes taxonomy and biology, molecular characteristics, and transmission of the parasite. It also provides researchers, clinicians, public health officials, and food safety officials with basic data for the epidemiology of the Cyclospora spp. or C. cayetanensis, as well as strategies to monitor large-scale outbreaks of Cyclospora spp. or C. cayetanensis. The book further covers clinical symptoms, diagnostic methods, and means of treatment and prevention of this disease and informs readers of the hazards of the parasite, common means of transmission, and self-protection measures.

• Provides the taxonomy of 22 species of Cyclospora (including two newly identified Cyclospora species)
• Covers the scenarios and characteristics of recent epidemics in the world, susceptible populations, and the risk factors in the transmission of the C. cayetanensis
• Summarizes recent developments in detection methods of Cyclospora spp. or C. cayetanensis in humans, animals, and the environment

• Language: English
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Release date: Apr 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9780128216224

Long Zhang

Long Zhang is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Energy and Power Engineering at the Beijing Institute of Technology, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degrees from both The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Harbin Institute of Technology, China. His research interests include frosting mechanisms on cold surfaces, frosting characteristics on finned tube heat exchangers, and frosting and defrosting performances for air source heat pump systems. He has published more than 16 papers as in the heat and mass transfer field, including 10 as the lead/corresponding author.

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topic.

Chapter 1: Taxonomy and biology

Abstract

This chapter introduces the history of discovery, morphology, taxonomy, and life cycle of Cyclospora. The species of Cyclospora was first described in the millipede in 1881. The human cyclosporosis pathogenic organism was first described in Papua New Guinea. As of today, 22 named Cyclospora species have been identified in the humans and animals. Besides, some Cyclospora-like organisms have also been described. The oocyst morphology of Cyclospora parasite differs in forms, and the most commonly reported forms are spheroidal, subspheroidal, ovoid, or ellipsoidal. Taxonomically, Cyclospora belongs to family Eimeriidae under the subclass Coccidiasina and subphylum Apicomplexa. Attempts have been made to study the life cycle of Cyclospora spp. on many occasions and a convincing description was obtained only for human-infecting C. cayetanensis that mainly transmit via fecal-oral route. The parasite could complete both asexual (sporulation) and sexual (gametogamy) stages in its life cycle, even in the same host.

Keywords

Cyclospora species; Morphology; Taxonomy; Host; Biology; Life cycle

Contents

1.1Introduction

1.2History of discovery and research

1.2.1Cyclospora detected in animals

1.2.2Cyclospora detected in humans

1.3Morphology

1.4Taxonomy

1.4.1Cyclospora glomericola

1.4.2Cyclospora caryolytica

1.4.3Cyclospora viperae

1.4.4Cyclospora scinci

1.4.5Cyclospora zamenis

1.4.6Cyclospora tropidonoti

1.4.7Cyclospora babaulti

1.4.8Cyclospora niniae

1.4.9Cyclospora ashtabulensis

1.4.10Cyclospora talpae

1.4.11Cyclospora sp.

1.4.12Cyclospora megacephali

1.4.13Cyclospora parascalopi

1.4.14Cyclospora angimurinensis

1.4.15Cyclospora cayetanensis

1.4.16Cyclospora cercopitheci

1.4.17Cyclospora colobi

1.4.18Cyclospora papionis

1.4.19Cyclospora schneideri

1.4.20Cyclospora macacae

1.4.21Cyclospora duszynskii

1.4.22Cyclospora yatesi

1.4.23Some unnamed Cyclospora-like organisms in animals

1.5Life cycle of Cyclospora

1.6Conclusion

References

1.1: Introduction

The species of the genus Cyclospora, Cyclospora glomericola, was first described in the millipede Glomeris (Diplopoda) by Aimé Schneider in 1881 (Ortega and Sanchez, 2010). The human cyclosporosis pathogenic organism was first described in three patients in Papua New Guinea (Ashford et al., 1979), and named as Cyclospora cayetanensis by Ortega et al. in 1994 (Ortega and Sanchez, 2010). As of today, 22 named Cyclospora species have been identified in the humans and various animals, including vipers, moles, myriapodes, rodents, and monkeys (McAllister et al., 2018; Li et al., 2020). Besides, some Cyclospora-like organisms, none of which got valid species name, have also been described in dogs, cattle, chickens, rats/house mice, birds, monkeys, shellfish, etc., and even in environmental samples (Li et al., 2020).

Microscopically, Cyclospora oocysts are usually visible with modified Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast staining (Clarke and McIntyre, 1996; Zhou et al., 2011). Furthermore, the oocyst wall autofluorescences under fluorescence microscopy, which is an important characteristic of Cyclospora parasite (Zhou et al., 2011). The oocysts of Cyclospora morphologically slightly differ by species under microscope and are mostly spheroidal, subspheroidal, ovoid, or ellipsoidal in forms. When sporulated, each oocyst has two ovoid sporocysts that in turn contain two sporozoites each (Ortega and Sanchez, 2010).

Taxonomically, Cyclospora belongs to the Apicomplexa subphylum, Coccidiasina subclass, Eimeriidae family, and Cyclospora genus (Ortega and Sanchez, 2010). Phylogenetic analysis had revealed that human-associated Cyclospora is closely related to members of the genus Eimeria (Relman et al., 1996; Liu et al., 2016). The life cycle-related infection of Cyclospora is similar to that of the most of the other Apicomplexan intestinal parasite that mainly occurs via the fecal-oral transmission route (Almeria et al., 2019). The presence of asexual and sexual stages in the same host suggests that the life cycle of the microorganism can be completed within one host (Ortega et al., 1997).

1.2: History of discovery and research

1.2.1: Cyclospora detected in animals

The species of the genus Cyclospora, C. glomericola, was described in the millipede Glomeris (Diplopoda) by Aimé Schneider in 1881 and, to date, appears to be the only species encountered in an invertebrate host (Lainson, 2005). In 1870, Eimer noted the presence of a parasite with Cyclosporan morphology in the intestine of the mole Talpa europaea, but did not propose any name for the parasite. In 1902, Schaudinn named the parasite Cyclospora caryolytica and gave a full description of its life cycle. Tanabe (1938) later described the development of what he considered to be the same species in another mole referred to as Mogera wogura coreana from Japan (Lainson, 2005).

There followed a succession of descriptions of other Cyclospora species in reptiles, snakes, and monkeys, most with intracytoplasmic development in epithelial cells of the intestine (Table 1.1). However, Pellérdy and Tanyi (1968) described the oocysts of a second species in the European mole and named it Cyclospora talpae. They observed the parasitic microgamonts and macrogamonts in the liver, and, in 1990, Mohamed and Molyneux showed that these sexual stages developed within the nucleus of the bile-duct epithelial cells. Duszynski and Wattam (1988) redescribed the oocysts of C. talpae in European mole (T. europaea) from England and, in addition, noted that some oocysts were present which differed from those of C. talpae in minor details (principally in size). Whether or not they belonged to another species of Cyclospora has not been decided yet. Ford and Duszynski (1988) turned their attention to fecal samples from other members of the Insectivora and encountered three further species of Cyclospora. Cyclospora megacephali was described in the eastern mole Scalopus aquaticus, and both Cyclospora ashtabulensis and Cyclospora parascalopi in the hairy-tailed mole Parascalops breweri. The site of development in these animals was not ascertained. Ford et al. (1990) gave the name Cyclospora angimurinensis to oocysts they found in the feces of the heteromyid rodent Chaetodipus hispidus from the United States and Northern Mexico. Once again, the site of endogenous development was not determined (Lainson, 2005).

Table 1.1

Four Cyclospora species have been described in nonhuman primates: Cyclospora cercopitheci in vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops), Cyclospora colobi in colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza), and Cyclospora papionis in olive baboons (Papio anubis) in 1999 (Eberhard et al., 1999); and Cyclospora macacae in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in 2015 (Li et al., 2015). In 2018, two more species namely Cyclospora duszynskii and Cyclospora yatesi have been characterized in moles (S. aquaticus) (McAllister et al., 2018). Thus, 22 valid Cyclospora species have been described in humans and various animals till to