Blastocystis is a protistan parasite living in the digestive tract of many animals, including humans. This highly prevalent intestinal parasite is suspected to be linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a chronic functional bowel disorder. Here, we first compared the prevalence of Blastocystis among 56 IBS patients (40 IBS with constipation (IBS-C), 9 IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D), 4 mixed IBS (I...

Blastocystis sp. is a common zoonotic intestinal protozoa which has been classified into 17 subtypes (STs). A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and subtype distribution of Blastocystis in villagers living on the Thai-Myanmar border, where the risk of parasitic infection is high. A total of 207 stool samples were collected and DNA was extracted. PCR and sequencing u...

TO THE EDITOR—In their recent paper, Coyle et al [1] recommend metronidazole as the drug of choice for Blastocystis eradication. We have come across multiple cases where high-dose metronidazole treatment does not eliminate Blastocystis from the intestine. In fact, it appears that no single drug is capable of eradicating Blastocystis [2]. Here, we present an example of an intractable Blastocysti...

Protistan parasites in order to ensure their viability and demonstrate successful progression in their life cycle need to respond towards various environmental stressors. Blastocystis sp. is known to be the most commonly found intestinal protistan parasite in any human stool surveys and has been incriminated to be responsible for diarrhea and bloating stomach. The present study demonstrates for...

Blastocystis isolates from 56 Danish synanthropic and zoo animals, 62 primates primarily from United Kingdom (UK) collections and 16 UK primate handlers were subtyped by PCR, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. A new subtype (ST) from primates and artiodactyls was identified and designated as Blastocystis sp. ST10. STs isolated from non-human primates (n=70) included ST3 (33%), ST8 (21%), ST2...

Blastocystis is one of the most common emerging zoonotic parasites in humans and animals. This study aimed to determine molecular prevalence subtype cattle (Bos taurus). A total 150 fresh fecal samples were collected from slaughtered various slaughterhouses Kayseri Province, Central Anatolia. Genomic DNA was extracted all used PCR analyses small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene Blastocysti...