Pathogenicity of Blastocystis Hominis in Relation to Entropathogens in Gastroenteritis Cases in Baghdad

Blastocystis hominis was considered to be a member of normal intestinal flora in the past; recently it has been accepted as a controversial pathogen. In this study 200 stool specimens of patients suffering from gastroenteritis were studies by applying direct microscopic stool examination and culture. 67% of these specimens showed single entropathogen, 20% mixed and 12% were negative. These results were significant when compared with control specimens. No mixed bacterial and fungal or mixed bacterial alone were identified. As B. hominis is receiving increased attention as potential causative agent for diarrhoea, the role of this protozoon in relation to other pathogens in diarrhoeal disease in Baghdad area was investigated. Eighty two individuals whose stool examination revealed B. hominis were evaluated for clinical symptoms.12% of the cases were mixed infections with other organisms, where as 29% were infected with B. hominis only, on both occasion B. hominis showed significant relation to the presence of blood, leucocytes, and stool consistency of the specimens investigated. Metronidazole was administered for 10 days to the patients infected with B. hominis. At the end of treatment, the investigation was repeated and stools examination gave negative results for B. hominis.