Response to Cox: Human balantidiasis in Iran: wild boars or not?

Isolated Balantidium coli in a 1.5-Year-Old Boy: A Case Report

PURPOSE

Balantidium coli, is a protozoa that can infect humans. Balantidium coli infection is mostly asymptomatic, but can cause of diarrhea, abdominal pain and sometimes perforated colon. There are only few previous reports regarding the infant balantidiasis and there is a little information about its clinical signs and treatment. In Islamic countries pig farming and consumption is prohibited and reservoir host is unknown.

METHODS

1.5 years old boy showed sever anorexia and diarrhea. The affected infant was depressed. The evaluation of fecal examination revealed a large number of B. coli trophozoites and cysts leaded us to an uncommon presentation of B. coli in the infant.

RESULTS

A few reports of human balantidiasis from Iran seems quite extraordinary. Wild boars have been proposed the responsible for transmission of human infection in Iran.

CONCLUSION

However, this report as the first report of infant balantidiasis in Iran supports the role of other sources and domestic or wild animals as reservoir hosts for B. coli in Iran.

Genetic identification of the ciliates from greater rheas (Rhea americana) and lesser rheas (Rhea pennata) as Balantioides coli

The ciliate species Balantioides coli can be cross-transmitted between humans and several animal species. Usually harmless, sometimes it can be pathogenic and cause the death of the host. In birds, B. coli has been confirmed in ostriches by genetic analysis, but the identification from South American greater rheas (Rhea americana) and lesser rheas (Rhea pennata pennata) is tentative. Since these species are reared for commercial purposes and for reintroduction into the wild, it is necessary to elucidate whether the ciliate from rheas is B. coli to minimize health risks for humans and for other domestic and wild animals. Individual parasite cells are collected from Argentinean isolates of reared greater rheas and of wild and reared lesser rheas, and their ITS region was PCR amplified; the cloning products were sequenced and compared with sequences available in public databases. The results have shown that several sequence types are expressed at the same time in the parasite cells, and all correspond to B. coli, confirming the possibility of cross-transmission of the parasite between wild and reared South American rheas and several mammal species and humans.

Zoonotic implications of the swine-transmitted protozoal infections

Pig production is an important part of the economy in many countries. Domestic and wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are susceptible to a wide range of infectious and parasitic diseases. Some of these diseases are specifically limited to pigs while some of the other diseases are shared with other species of wildlife and domestic livestock. As the numbers and geographic distribution of wild and domestic swines continue to increase, it is certain that the number of contacts between these swines and domestic livestock will also increase, as will the probability of human exposure to the parasites of swine directly or indirectly. Here, we will discuss the protozoal infections of pigs, which have the potential to infect humans and provide reasonable risk assessment for zoonotic transmission.