Literature Analysis of Blastocystis sp. from 1990 to 2019 in China

Abstract

Background Blastocystis sp. is ubiquitous presence in animals and humans worldwide and a broad diversity genetically. The aim of this study was to find out the main research progress and research status of Blastocystis sp. in China in the past thirty years. Methods On the Chinese mainstream database China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database and PubMed database, the research literatures of Chinese Blastocystis sp. were searched and analyzed. Results 285 articles related to Blastocystis sp. were retrieved, including 244 published in Chinese and 41 English on pathogen morphology, epidemiological investigation, laboratory detection and diagnosis, clinical case reports, drug treatment, animal model establishment as well as pathogenicity studies. There were the most epidemiological investigations and researches on pathogenic morphology decreasing recently Surveys of Blastocystis sp. of human has been carried out among a total of 18 provinces, with infection rates ranging from 0.007–48.6%. Infants and young children, school students, hospitalized diarrhea patients, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients, tuberculosis patients, and cancer patients as respondents had been included. ST1-ST7 and ST12 were the main subtypes in Chinese population. Moreover, surveys of Blastocystis sp. of animal were also conducted in 12 provinces, with infection rates ranging from 2.54–79.41%. A variety of animals were investigated including pigs, cattle, sheep, yak, giant panda, and Crested Ibis et al., with the main subtypes of ST1-ST8, ST10, ST12-ST14. In vitro culture and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were commonly used to detect Blastocystis sp. in research and less in clinical application. Traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine for clinical drug treatment appeared curative effects. However, there were few reports on the application of traditional Chinese medicine in clinical treatment. The pathogenicity of Blastocystis sp. remains controversial and needs further exploration. Conclusion various researches on Blastocystis sp. had been carried out in China, especially in epidemiology. However, there is no report on the relationship between human Blastocystis sp. and animal infection. Furthermore, the relationship between infant diarrhea and its impact on the intestinal microecology have not received much attention from clinicians. The research on Blastocystis sp. still needs to be strengthened to provide effective data for the prevention and control and improve the quality of life of the population.