Molecular epidemiology of blastocystosis in Malaysia: does seasonal variation play an important role in determining the distribution and risk factors of Blastocystis subtype infections in the Aboriginal community?

Abstract

BackgroundAlternating wet and dry seasons may play an important role in the acquisition and distribution of Blastocystis subtype infection in the tropics. This cross-sectional study was therefore conducted to provide the prevalence of Blastocystis and to determine the potential risk factors associated with each subtype during the wet and dry seasons in the Aboriginal community, Pahang, Malaysia.MethodsA total of 473 faecal samples were collected: 256 (54.1%) and 217 (45.9%) samples were obtained during the wet (October-November 2014) and the dry season (June 2015), respectively. All fresh faecal samples were subjected to molecular analysis for subtype and allele identification.ResultsOf the 473 samples, 42.6% and 37.8% were positive for Blastocystis ST1, ST2, ST3 and ST4 during wet and dry seasons, respectively. Prevalence of Blastocystis ST1 was significantly higher during the wet season compared to the dry season (Z = 2.146, P < 0.05). Analysis of the association of each Blastocystis subtype with socioeconomic characteristics showed the presence of other family members infected with Blastocystis ST3 and the use of stored river water for domestic activities were the significant risk factors for Blastocystis ST3 infections during both seasons. Untreated water supply and low monthly household income (less or equal to RM 500) were the other significant risk factors for Blastocystis ST3 infections during wet and dry season, respectively. The presence of other family members with Blastocystis ST1 and ST2 was the only significant risk factor associated with ST1 and ST2 infections during both seasons. We hypothesise that transmission of Blastocystis ST1, ST2 and ST3 occurred from person to person during both seasons. The waterborne transmission was also identified as a mode of transmission of Blastocystis ST3.ConclusionThe significant risk factors identified in this study were important in the dynamic transmission of Blastocystis infections during both seasons. Provision of treated water supply and health education are affirmative actions to be taken to control Blastocystis infections in this community.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2294-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Blastocystis sp. Prevalence and Subtypes Distribution amongst Syrian Refugee Communities Living in North Lebanon

“…Indeed, intestinal parasites are usually considered as vectors of poverty related diseases as highlighted for instance by the high prevalence of Blastocystis sp. revealed in low-income African [ 9 ], Asian [ 11 ], and American countries [ 13 ]. Moreover, the prevalence of Blastocystis sp.…”

“…The transmission of Blastocystis sp. is thus naturally favored by the precarious sanitary and hygienic conditions encountered in certain populations with low level of sanitation, particularly in African, Asian, or American developing countries [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. On the other hand, the zoonotic potential of Blastocystis sp.…”

Differentiation of Blastocystis and parasitic archamoebids encountered in untreated wastewater samples by amplicon-based next-generation sequencing

“…To date, ST8 has only been identified with regularity in some New World monkeys (Alfellani et al, 2013c). There are only sporadic reports of ST8 in humans (Forsell et al, 2017; Stensvold et al, 2008; Barbosa et al, 2018; Mattiucci et al, 2016; Stensvold et al, 2009b; Seguí et al, 2018), non-human primates (Alfellani et al, 2013c; Helenbrook et al, 2015; Scicluna et al, 2006), birds (Abe et al, 2003), other hosts (Noradilah et al, 2017a) and water (Noradilah et al, 2017b). Although ST8 has been reported once in bird droppings (Abe et al, 2003) the subtypes usually reported in birds are ST6 (Jacob et al, 2016) and ST7 (Stensvold et al, 2009b; Greige et al, 2018; Deng et al, 2019).…”

Prevalence and Subtype Distribution of Blastocystis sp. in Senegalese School Children

“…is thus much lower in industrialized countries than in lower-income geographical areas [ 5 ]. For instance, it reaches 10 to 20% in European countries [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ] but can largely exceed 40–50% in various African [ 12 , 13 ], Asian [ 14 , 15 ], and American countries [ 16 , 17 ].…”