Blastocystis Hominis Infection

Blastocystis hominis is a microscopic organism that may be found in the stools of healthy people who aren't having any digestive symptoms. Blastocystis hominis is also sometimes found in the stools of people who have diarrhea, abdominal pain or other gastrointestinal problems.

Symptoms: Signs and symptoms that might be associated with blastocystis include: Diarrhea Nausea Abdominal cramps Bloating Excessive gas (flatulence) Hives Loss of appetite Fatigue

Treatment:Treatment of Blastocystis infection remains a complicated issue. Because there is still a great deal of debate about the true pathogenicity of Blastocystis, there is still much debate about the need for treatment. Further knowledge about the genotyping and subtyping of Blastocystis and the impact that various subtypes may have on pathogenicity and antimicrobial efficacy is still being sought [22]. In a symptomatic patient, isolation of cysts in stool specimens should trigger a thorough evaluation for other causes of the patient’s gastrointestinal tract complaints, given the possibility for coinfection with other pathogens.

statistics: B. hominis was found in 969 (26.58 %) of 3645 stool specimens examined. The infection of B. hominis was significantly more (p < 0.05) in summer than in winter over a three year period. In a prospective study of 108 patients, the most common symptoms with stools positive only for B. hominis were diarrhoea (84.94 %), abdominal pain (66.66 %), flatulence (17.20 %) and vomiting (16.12 %).