As a part of medical assistance activities, parasitological examination of fecal samples from 227 school children from a public institution of São Paulo (SP) revealed a rather high proportion of results positive for Blastocystis hominis. Other protozoan and worm species were markedly scarcer, a peculiar situation according to our judgement. It is acknowledged that blastocystosis is still largel...

Blastocystis hominis, previously known as a yeast, is being considered a potential pathogenic protozoan by different authors (RR Babb & S Wagener 1989 West J Med 151: 518-519, SMH Qadri et al. 1989 J Clin Microbiol 27: 2407-2409). However, others believe it to be a commensal microorganism (T Sun et al. 1989 Am J Gastroenterol 84: 1543-1547, H Senay & D Mac Pherson 1990 J Infect Dis 162: 987-990...

Blastocystis hominis is now gaining acceptance as an agent of human intestinal disease. A case-control study of the cause of gastroenteritis in children less than 6 years old was conducted. A total of 500 stool specimens were examined by wet mount preparation, formalin-ether concentration, Sheather's sugar flotation technique, and permanent stains when necessary. B. hominis was found in 63 (25%...

Background: Blastocystis hominis (B. hominis) is a ubiquitous parasite that has spread worldwide and commonly present in human stool specimens. It was hypothesized infection with B. plays role the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases humans. The aim this study to test hypothesis by investigating patients diseases. Patients various types gastrointestinal symptoms were enrolled as cases (n = 72) a...

Sheehan et al. (3) and Pikula (Z. P. Pikula, Letter, J. Clin. Microbiol. 25:1581, 1987) bear witness to the fact that Blastocystis hominis is a common inhabitant of the human intestinal tract. These authors, like those they cite, have found B. hominis in some persons in whom they identified none of the commonly recognized pathogens, and in others in association with recognized pathogenic protoz...

This study was prompted by the paradox of strong presence of mitochondria in an anaerobic protozoan, recently reclassified from the yeasts. Stemming from publication in 1911 to 1912, Blastocystis hominis has been generally accepted as a harmless intestinal yeast of humans, with short standardized textbook (parasitology) descriptions, even to the present day. Reports since 1967 have changed the ...