Development of a method for the concentration and recovery of microsporidia from tap water

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites. Microsporidian spores infect a wide variety of hosts, including humans. The spores may be found in infected hosts' urine and feces, thus waterborne transmission is possible. This study details method development for the detection of microsporidia in tap water. In this study, filtration, centrifugation, purification, and detection parameters were optimized for the detection of microsporidia. The Pall–Gelman Envirocheck sampling capsule (Pall Gelman, Ann Arbor, MI) was chosen as the filter element. Optimal centrifugal force for spore recovery was 1500 × g. Additionally, it was determined that eluting microsporidia spores in a detergent elution buffer solution had a detrimental effect on spore recovery. A direct examination of the concentrate resulted in a greater recovery with less variability than subjecting the sample concentrate to a Percoll–sucrose density gradient purification step. The staining method employed for the detection spores was Calcofluor ...