animals such as pigs (Lores et al. 2002). In some communities of pigs, the prevalence rates of E. bieneusi reached 37% (Mathias et al. 2005). There are no recorded large epidemics yet. PCR analysis in Czech Republic revealed existence of E. bieneusi in 94% of the samples indicating the large presence of E. bieneusi in swine, and that they may be naturally occurring (Sak et al. 2008). Economic impact Since this is a relatively new finding in pigs, its economic impact has not been studied yet. Pig farming in the US has an annual revenue of $18 billion and the US has about 75000 pig farms. Infection in even a few pigs can be devastating, as the disease is easily spread. Moreover, these pigs can serve as zoonotic reservoirs for E. bieneusi, making transmission to other animals and humans possible. Since the transmission from swine to other humans and animals is not studied yet, this may cause a major impact on the health of this country. Moreover, in other parts of the world, such as China, where the pig industry is a major economic component and where humans and pigs live in crowded conditions, the disease can be very easily spread and can have a potentially major impact on the economy. References Abreu-Acosta, N., Lorenzo-Morales, J., Leal-Guio, Y., Coronado-Alvarez, N., Foronda, P., Alcoba-Florez, J., Izquierdo, F., Batista-Diaz, N., Del Aguila, C., & Valladares, B. (2005). Enterocytozoon bieneusi (microsporidia) in clinical samples from immunocompetent individuals in tenerife, canary islands, Spain. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 99(11), 848-855. Breitenmoser, A. C., Mathis, A., Burgi, E., Weber, R., & Deplazes, P. (1999). High prevalence of enterocytozoon bieneusi in swine with four genotypes that differ from those identified in humans. Parasitology, 118 ( Pt 5)(Pt 5), 447-453. Deplazes, P., Mathis, A., Muller, C., & Weber, R. (1996). Molecular epidemiology of encephalitozoon cuniculi and first detection of enterocytozoon bieneusi in faecal samples of pigs. The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 43(5), 93S. Desportes, I., Le Charpentier, Y., Galian, A., Bernard, F., Cochand-Priollet, B., Lavergne, A., Ravisse, P., & Modigliani, R. (1985). Occurrence of a new microsporidan: Enterocytozoon bieneusi n.g., n. sp., in the enterocytes of a human patient with AIDS. The Journal of Protozoology, 32(2), 250-254. Keeling, P. J., & Fast, N. M. (2002). Microsporidia: Biology and evolution of highly reduced intracellular parasites. Annual Review of Microbiology, 56, 93-116. Lores, B.,