Prevalence and Subtype Identification of Blastocystis sp. in Healthy Individuals in the Tunis Area, Tunisia

Imène Ben Abda Research Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
Department of Parasitology, Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

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Nabil Maatoug Research Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
Department of Parasitology, Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

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Rania Ben Romdhane Research Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

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Nada Bouhelmi Department of Parasitology, Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

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Najet Zallegua Department of Parasitology, Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

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Karim Aoun Research Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
Department of Parasitology, Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

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Eric Viscogliosi Centre d'Infection et d'Immunité de Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France.

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Aïda Bouratbine Research Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.
Department of Parasitology, Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

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Blastocystis sp. is currently the most common eukaryotic parasite found in humans. Despite its potential public health impact, epidemiological data regarding its prevalence and molecular subtype (ST) distribution in Maghreb are rarely reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the parasite in a cohort of healthy food handler Tunisian individuals and to acquire the first molecular data regarding the distribution of Blastocystis sp. STs in this country. Therefore, 524 fecal samples were collected, and 68 of them (13%) were identified as positive for the parasite by direct-light microscopy of smears. Seventeen samples of 100 negative by microscopy were also shown to be positive by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Among all the positive samples, 61 Blastocystis isolates were subtyped using partial small subunit ribosomal RNA gene analysis. ST3 was the most abundant (51%) followed by ST1 (30%), ST2 (16%), and ST4 and ST7 (both 1.6%).

Author Notes

* Address correspondence to Aïda Bouratbine, Department of Parasitology, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002 Tunis Belvedere, Tunisia. E-mail: aida.bouratbine@pasteur.rns.tn

Financial support: This study was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Tunisia, in the setting of the Research Laboratory of Medical Parasitology, Biotechnology and Biomolecules (PMBB), and Institut Pasteur of Tunis, Tunisia (LR11-IPT06).

Authors' addresses: Imène Ben Abda, Nabil Maatoug, Rania Ben Romdhane, Nada Bouhelmi, Najet Zallegua, Karim Aoun, and Aïda Bouratbine, Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia, E-mails: benabda.imen@hotmail.fr, nabilmaatoug2@gmail.com, rania.bromdhane91@gmail.com, nadabouhelmi@gmail.com, najet.zallaga@pasteur.rns.tn, karim.aoun@pasteur.rns.tn, and aida.bouratbine@pasteur.rns.tn. Eric Viscogliosi, Centre d'Infection et d'Immunité de Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université de Lille, Lille, France, E-mail: eric.viscogliosi@pasteur-lille.fr.

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