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Blastocystis in Côte d’Ivoire: molecular identification and epidemiological data

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Abstract

Blastocystis is an enteric protozoan infecting humans and animals in both developed and developing countries at all latitudes. Despite this, data on Blastocystis infection are not available for several geographical areas, including many African countries. In this study, a survey was conducted on Blastocystis among humans and domestic animals in rural and urban localities in Côte d’Ivoire, in order to investigate the prevalence, the subtype distribution, and the zoonotic potential in association with sociodemographic factors, seasonality, symptoms, and co-infections. A total of 110 fecal samples were collected from patients living in four localities. Molecular and phylogenetic analyses were conducted for Blastocystis detection and subtyping. Positive samples from symptomatic patients were tested by Luminex xTAG® Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (GPP) to evidence the presence of other common intestinal pathogens. Overall, a prevalence of 58.2% was observed in humans and subtypes ST1(50.0%), ST2 (22.0%) and ST3 (28.1%) were identified. The prevalence values varied significantly among the sites but not in relation to the subtype. The seasonal rains significantly increase the infection rate in all localities. No significant differences in the ST distribution between asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects were observed. As regard the zoonotic transmission, an additional sampling was conducted in another village where fecal samples were simultaneously collected from humans and animals. Blastocystis STs 1–3 and ST7 were identified in eight humans and four chickens, respectively. This study provides the first exhaustive data on the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of Blastocystis in Côte d’Ivoire.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the nurses of the Don Orione Center and General Hospital of Bonoua for the active collaboration. We also thank the Assomiss onlus for the help in sampling collection in the villages, and all parents and children involved in the study.

We thank Luminex Molecular Diagnostics for providing the xTAG GPP reagents for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    R. D’Alfonso

  2. Centre Don Orione pour handicapés physiques, Bonoua, Côte d’Ivoire

    R. D’Alfonso, A. Monsia, Y. Kaboré & C. Glé

  3. Department of Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    M. Santoro, D. Di Cave & F. Berrilli

  4. Hopital General de Bonoua, Bonoua, Côte d’Ivoire

    D. Essi

  5. Laboratory of Biometry, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    R. P. Sorge

  6. Institute of Virology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    V. Di Cristanziano

Authors
  1. R. D’Alfonso
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  2. M. Santoro
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  3. D. Essi
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  4. A. Monsia
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  5. Y. Kaboré
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  6. C. Glé
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  7. D. Di Cave
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  8. R. P. Sorge
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  9. V. Di Cristanziano
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  10. F. Berrilli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Berrilli.

Ethics declarations

Anamnestic data including age, sex, gastrointestinal symptoms and antibiotic therapy were retained confidential. All investigations and protocols followed the principles of the Helsinki Declaration WMA (Edinburgh 2000).

Funding

None.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The Medical Commission of Don Orione Centre approved the aims and the procedure of the study. The participation at the study was voluntary.

Informed consent

Informed verbal consent was obtained by all subjects included in the study. Also parents or guardians of children were informed about the purpose and the procedures of study.

Additional information

R. D’Alfonso, M. Santoro, V. Di Cristanziano and F. Berrilli contributed equally to this work.

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D’Alfonso, R., Santoro, M., Essi, D. et al. Blastocystis in Côte d’Ivoire: molecular identification and epidemiological data. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 36, 2243–2250 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-017-3053-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-017-3053-1

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