< i > Blastocystis < /i > subtyping and its association with intestinal parasites in children from different geographical regions of Colombia

by Juan David Ram írez, Carolina Flórez, Mario Olivera, María Consuelo Bernal, Julio Cesar GiraldoBlastocystis is a common enteric protist colonizing probably more than 1 billion people with a large variety of non-human hosts. Remarkable genetic diversity has been observed, leading to the subdivision of the genus into multiple subtypes (ST), some of which are exclusively found in non-human hosts. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution ofBlastocystis STs/18S alleles in symptomatic (abdominal pain, anal pruritus, diarrhea, headache, nauseas and/or vomit) and asymptomatic children from nine geographical regions of Colombia. A total of 2026 fecal samples were collected as part of a national survey to estimate the frequency of intestinal parasites in children. A set of 256 samples that wereBlastocystis positive was finally selected. The samples were submitted to DNA extraction, Real Time PCR and sequencing usingBlastocystis-specific primers targeting the small subunit rRNA gene for ST identification. DNA ofAscaris lumbricoides (16.4%),Trichuris trichiura (8.2%), hookworms (Necator americanus/Ancylostoma duodenale) (7.3%),Giardia duodenalis (23.1%),Entamoeba complex (82%),Entamoeba coli (55%),Hymenolepis nana (0.8%),Endolimax nana (33.2%) andNeobalantidium coli (2.7%) was detected in theBlastocystis-positive samples. We detected ST1 (21.4%), ST2 (19.5%), ST3 (55.5%), ST4 (0.8%), ST6 (2%) and ST7 (0.8%); alleles 1, 2, 4, 81, 82 and 83 for ST1; alleles 9, 11, 12, ...
Source: PLoS One - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research