Cutaneous lesions in Blastocystis hominis infection.

Sir, The first paper clearly defining the genus Blastocystis as a distinct organism was presented by Alexeieff (1) in 1911, who proposed the name Blastocystis enterocola. The name Blastocystis hominis was proposed by Brumpt (2), and this is the name utilized in the current literature. B. hominis is now regarded as an intestinal protozoan that seems not merely to be a commensal organism, but should be considered as a potential pathogen (3). Symptoms commonly attributed to infection with B. hominis include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, cramps, nausea, discomfort, anorexia, fatigue, flatulence and profuse watery diarrhoea (4 – 6). During the past few years an association between B. hominis infection and some skin disorders such as urticaria (7, 8) and palmoplantar pruritus (9) have been reported. We present here our experience of this association.