Subtype Distribution of Blastocystis in Communities along the Chao Phraya River, Thailand.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Palasuwan, Attakorn Palasuwan, Duangdao Mahittikorn, Aongart Chiabchalard, Rachatawan Combes, Valery Popruk, Supaluk
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	Blastocystis is a common zoonotic enteric protozoan that has been classified into 17 distinct subtypes (STs). A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and subtype distributions of Blastocystis in villagers living along the Chao Phraya River, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand, and to assess the risk of zoonotic infection. In total, 220 stool samples were collected, and DNA was extracted. PCR and sequencing were performed with primers targeting the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes. Blastocystis was present in 5.9% (13/220) of samples, and ST3 (5.0%; 11/220) was the predominant subtype, followed by ST2 (0.45%; 1/220) and ST6 (0.45%; 1/220). Phylogenetic trees were constructed with the maximum-likelihood method based on the Hasegawa–Kishino–Yano + G + I model, neighbor-joining, and maximum parsimony methods. The percentage of bootstrapped trees in which the associated taxa clustered together was relatively high. All the sequences of the Blastocystis-positive samples (KU051524–KU051536) were closely related to those from animals (pig, cattle, and chicken), indicating a zoonotic risk. Therefore, the villagers require proper health education, especially regarding the prevention of parasitic infection, to improve their personal hygiene and community health. Further studies are required to investigate the Blastocystis STs in the animals living in these villages.
ISSN	00234001
Journal	The Korean Journal of Parasitology
Volume Number	54
PubMed Central reference number	PMC5040084
Issue Number	4
PubMed reference number	27658597
e-ISSN	17380006
DOI	10.3347/kjp.2016.54.4.455
Language	English
Publisher	The Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine
Publisher Date	2016-08-31
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2016, Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine
Subject Keyword	Blastocystis subtype zoonotic risk Chao Phraya River Thailand
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Infectious Diseases Parasitology