Blastocystis SPP. infection prevalence and associated patient characteristics as predictors among a cohort of symptomatic and asymptomatic Egyptians

Haitham KH Ahmed; Khairy A. Mohamed; Gamal A. Abo Sheishaa; Nasr El-Deen M. Ali; Eman S. El-Wakil; Ayman A. El-Badry

doi:10.53730/ijhs.v6nS6.10918

Authors

Haitham KH Ahmed Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Egypt
Khairy A. Mohamed Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Egypt
Gamal A. Abo Sheishaa Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Egypt
Nasr El-Deen M. Ali Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Egypt
Eman S. El-Wakil Parasitology Department, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza, Egypt
Ayman A. El-Badry
aelbadry@kasralainy.edu.eg
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Fasial University, Saudi Arabia

Keywords:

blastocystis, microscopy, culture, PCR, predictors, Egypt, symptomatic apical periodontitis, asymptomatic

Abstract

Blastocystis species (spp.) is a large unicellular intestinal protozoan parasite that has a worldwide distribution. It has unclear pathogenicity and is linked to many clinical disorders. The study purpose was to determine the prevalence of Blastocystis spp. molecularly in a cohort of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals and to assess the association of Blastocystis spp. with the patient characteristics as possible predictors of the occurrence of Blastocystis spp. Fecal specimens were collected from 139 Egyptians of both sexes, aged from 5 months to 74 years. All fecal specimens were examined coproscopically for detection of gut parasites and cultured on Modified Jones’ medium for detection of Blastocystis spp. Molecular assay using nested PCR (nPCR) was performed for cultured Blastocystis. The association between detection of Blastocystis spp. and patient demographics and clinical data was determined. Prevalence of parasitic infections was 62 (44.6%) using coproscopy. Blastocystis spp. was the most prevalent parasite (21.6%) in both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, followed by E. histolytica complex (13.7%) and Giardia intestinalis (10.8%). Cryptosporidium spp. (2.2%) and E. coli (2.1%) were the least detected parasites. Among studied patient characteristics, only age showed statistical significance in association with detection of Blastocysitis spp.

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