Current World Status of Balantidium coli

Abstract

SUMMARY Balantidium coli is a cosmopolitan parasitic-opportunistic pathogen that can be found throughout the world. Pigs are its reservoir hosts, and humans become infected through direct or indirect contact with pigs. In rural areas and in some developing countries where pig and human fecal matter contaminates the water supply, there is a greater likelihood that balantidiosis may develop in humans. The infection may be subclinical in humans, as it mostly is in pigs, or may develop as a fulminant infection with bloody and mucus-containing diarrhea; this can lead to perforation of the colon. The disease responds to treatment with tetracycline or metronidazole. Balantidiosis is a disease that need never exist given access to clean water and a public health infrastructure that monitors the water supply and tracks infections. Its spread can be limited by sanitary measures and personal hygiene, but it is a disease that will be around as long as there are pigs. Immunocompromised individuals have developed balantidiosis without any direct contact with pigs, perhaps with rats or contaminated produce as a possible source of infection. For the clinician, balanatidiosis should be included in the differential diagnosis for persistent diarrhea in travelers to or from Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific islands, rural South America, or communities where close contact with domestic swine occurs. Warming of the earth's surface may provide a more favorable environment, even in the now-temperate areas of the world, for survival of trophic and cystic stages of Balantidium, and its prevalence may increase. Effective sanitation and uncontaminated water are the most useful weapons against infection. Fortunately, balantidiosis responds to antimicrobial therapy, and there have been no reports of resistance to the drugs of choice.

Gastrointestinal parasites of swine raised in different management systems in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…In addition, there was a meeting of trophozoites in solid stool, which underscores the importance of conducting the direct examination in the diagnosis of balantidiasis in pigs. The monitoring of B. coli in pig herds become relevant because these animals are usually regarded as the major reservoir for human infection (Schuster, Ramirez-Avila, 2008). In addition, the balan-tidiasis has been mainly reported in countries of tropical and subtropical climates, like those of Rio de Janeiro.…”

Comparative study of three xenic media culture for cultivation of Balantidium coli strains

“…This estimate was based on the measure of the central tendency and does not reflect extreme growth values (minimum and maximum), which were also observed in the present study. According to Diamond (1954) and Schuster & Ramirez-Ávila (2008), the strains might behave differently in vitro, even when isolated from a single host. The vast majority of strains isolated from Cynomolgus macaques presented more cells than those isolated from pigs, and distinct quantitative growth differences were observed between strains of the same species of animals.…”

“…Balantidiasis has been reported in various animals, particularly non-human primates and pigs, which are considered the primary hosts of these parasites (NAKAUCHI, 1999;SCHUSTER & RAMIREZ-ÁVILA, 2008). This parasitic disease, considered a zoonosis, might manifest serious clinical gastrointestinal conditions in humans, such as dysentery and ulcers that progress to death (PINHEIRO & LIMA, 1991;ESTEBAN et al, 1998;VÁSQUEZ & VIDAL, 1999).…”

Prevalencia de Balantidium coli en la población humana y porcina asociado a factores socioeconómicos y saneamiento ambiental en el Distrito de Acora Puno Perú

“…Por otro lado, la frecuencia de presentación de Balantidium coli en diversos medios geográficos es variable (Thompson & Smith, 2011); ejemplo, en el altiplano boliviano se reportó una prevalencia de 1,2%, con un rango 1,0 a 5,3% en niños escolares (Esteban et al, 1998;Schuster & Ramirez-Avila, 2008); en niños de la provincia de Maysan, Iraq, se reportó una prevalencia del 5% (Al-musawi, 2016); en los pobladores de comunidades indígenas con condiciones sanitarias deficientes del Bolivia, Perú, y Chile, se encontró el 8%, 6% y 4,5 % de los encuestados (Acha & Szyfres, 2005).…”

“…En las comunidades del distrito de Acora, provincia y región Puno, la crianza de porcinos es una actividad económicamente importante para la población, pero el manejo de los animales es precario y el medio se caracteriza por las deficientes condiciones de salubridad, el bajo nivel educativo y la pobreza que constituyen el común denominador de las familias rurales y estas condiciones son propicias para la persistencia de las zoonosis parasitarias como la balantidiasis (Mendoza-Gómez et al, 2015;Schuster & Ramirez-Avila, 2008), que es realizado en la zona por , reportando el 75% de los porcinos se encontraban infectados.…”