Blastocystisin the cervix of Polish women: a subtype found in a parenteral location is different to that found in the anus

Abstract

ObjectiveThe presence ofBlastocystisspp. in a parenteral location—in the female genital tract—has been reported three times. The genetic material of the protozoan has been identified only once.MethodsBlastocystisDNA was detected using real-time PCR.ResultsThirty patients with so-called cervical erosions were examined. The presence ofBlastocystisgenetic material was confirmed in nine women. The authors are the first to confirm and identify the DNA ofBlastocystissubtype ST1, ST6, and ST7 in samples taken from the ectocervix and the distal part of the cervical canal of women with large, symptomatic glandular ectopies which were resistant to standard treatment. In one case, in material from the cervix we identified aBlastocystissubtype which was different to that found in the anus of the same woman.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that the presence ofBlastocystisin the cervix is not, in any obvious way, associated with hygienic issues or neglect, but could be the result of women having vaginal intercourse with heterosexual men in whose semen this protozoan occurs. The possibility ofBlastocystisoccurrence in semen has been confirmed by recent publications as well as our own unpublished results. This discovery gives hope for the eradication of these organisms and thus to curing patients with chronic gynaecological problems.