Thanks to Google Scholar and PubMed feeds I can keep myself relatively up-to-date with emerging Blastocystis data and 'breaking news' in the field.
One of things that have caught my attention recently, is the string of foodborne outbreaks in Sweden, due to Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora and microsporidia stemming from (presumably) imported produce. A few of my colleagues (Robertsen et al., in press) have just published a large review on the impact of globalisation on foodborne parasites - a resource that has been a long time coming, and which I hope will be read and contemplated by many. The review includes a table on parasites isolated from fresh produce (for some reason the Swedish data was not included), and among these is Blastocystis, which was identified in fresh produce from Saudi Arabia (original data published by Al-Binali et al., 2006). Apart from this, hardly any data is out there on Blastocystis in the environment, and we therefore still know very little about potential sources of transmission and how we are exposed.
In Clinical Microbiology and Infection there is a paper out by Mass et al. on detection of intestinal protozoa in paediatric patients with gastrointestinal symptoms by multiplex real-time PCR. Not surprisingly, the study is from The Netherlands, the cradle of real-time PCR-based parasite diagnostics in clinical microbiology. It's a great paper despite all its limitations, but I couldn't figure out which Blastocystis PCR they used for the study, - I think the authors failed to provide a reference for it. Anyway, the authors found 30% of the children colonised by Blastocystis, while Dientamoeba fragilis was found in a staggering 62%, which is more or less equivalent to what we see in Denmark in this type of cohort (please refer to previous blog post on Dientamoeba fragilis). It appeared that symptom resolution was just as common in patients who were treated with different antibiotics as in patients who were not treated, and the authors end up by highlighting the fact that it is still difficult to know whom and when to test for these parasites, and when to treat them.
In Mexico, Sanchez-Aguillon and colleagues have documented a very nice study on parasitic infections in a Mexican HIV/AIDS cohort. Quite a few of the patients had Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora or Cystoisospora, the presence of which was - not surprisingly - associated with diarrhoea. Table 1 in the paper is a bit confusing, but I believe that Blastocystis was found in about 30%; of note, only ST1 and ST3 were found, adding further support to the hypothesis that ST1 and ST3 are common in most parts of the world, while especially ST4 exhibits vast differences in geographic 'affinity'. The authors end their paper by saying
There's a very nice paper out now from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and University of Basel on differential diagnoses of common dermatological problems in returning travellers. Blastocystis has been included in the list (in the section on allergic skin reactions/urticaria) together with a plethora of other infectious agents. Lots of informative images there, and the paper has a nice structure.
Despite loads of daily feeds, a lot of papers relevant to Blastocystis research still escape my attention. I realise that there was a paper out in PLoS Genetics in June on Saprolegnia parasitica (an oomocyte parasitising on fish) which appears to be a good and interesting read. Maybe I'll come back to this one!
For me personally, this month in Blastocystis research has been a month of putting together grant proposals - more so now than usual -, many initiatives are being taken, networks are being expanded, and interesting data are accumulating from various projects... I hope to be back with details on some of this soon!
Literature:
Maas L, Dorigo-Zetsma JW, de Groot CJ, Bouter S, Plötz FB, & van Ewijk BE (2013). Detection of intestinal protozoa in paediatric patients with gastrointestinal symptoms by multiplex real-time PCR. Clinical Microbiology and Infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases PMID: 24131443
One of things that have caught my attention recently, is the string of foodborne outbreaks in Sweden, due to Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora and microsporidia stemming from (presumably) imported produce. A few of my colleagues (Robertsen et al., in press) have just published a large review on the impact of globalisation on foodborne parasites - a resource that has been a long time coming, and which I hope will be read and contemplated by many. The review includes a table on parasites isolated from fresh produce (for some reason the Swedish data was not included), and among these is Blastocystis, which was identified in fresh produce from Saudi Arabia (original data published by Al-Binali et al., 2006). Apart from this, hardly any data is out there on Blastocystis in the environment, and we therefore still know very little about potential sources of transmission and how we are exposed.
In Clinical Microbiology and Infection there is a paper out by Mass et al. on detection of intestinal protozoa in paediatric patients with gastrointestinal symptoms by multiplex real-time PCR. Not surprisingly, the study is from The Netherlands, the cradle of real-time PCR-based parasite diagnostics in clinical microbiology. It's a great paper despite all its limitations, but I couldn't figure out which Blastocystis PCR they used for the study, - I think the authors failed to provide a reference for it. Anyway, the authors found 30% of the children colonised by Blastocystis, while Dientamoeba fragilis was found in a staggering 62%, which is more or less equivalent to what we see in Denmark in this type of cohort (please refer to previous blog post on Dientamoeba fragilis). It appeared that symptom resolution was just as common in patients who were treated with different antibiotics as in patients who were not treated, and the authors end up by highlighting the fact that it is still difficult to know whom and when to test for these parasites, and when to treat them.
In Mexico, Sanchez-Aguillon and colleagues have documented a very nice study on parasitic infections in a Mexican HIV/AIDS cohort. Quite a few of the patients had Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora or Cystoisospora, the presence of which was - not surprisingly - associated with diarrhoea. Table 1 in the paper is a bit confusing, but I believe that Blastocystis was found in about 30%; of note, only ST1 and ST3 were found, adding further support to the hypothesis that ST1 and ST3 are common in most parts of the world, while especially ST4 exhibits vast differences in geographic 'affinity'. The authors end their paper by saying
Let me just add that subtype identification is a valid proxy for intra-generic diversity in Blastocystis, - we have been looking at mitochondrial genomes and found that analyses based on mitochondrial markers and ribosomal genes reveal similar phylogenetic relationships. So, in terms of transmission and epidemiology in general, the subtyping system ('barcoding') is highly applicable and robust. It is true, however, that we need to see if we can identify specific genes potentially responsible for pathogenesis. The Mexican paper can be accessed here."Other molecular markers for Blastocystis ST should be studied to elucidate the complexity of this heterogeneous genus and its role in human disease."
There's a very nice paper out now from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and University of Basel on differential diagnoses of common dermatological problems in returning travellers. Blastocystis has been included in the list (in the section on allergic skin reactions/urticaria) together with a plethora of other infectious agents. Lots of informative images there, and the paper has a nice structure.
Despite loads of daily feeds, a lot of papers relevant to Blastocystis research still escape my attention. I realise that there was a paper out in PLoS Genetics in June on Saprolegnia parasitica (an oomocyte parasitising on fish) which appears to be a good and interesting read. Maybe I'll come back to this one!
For me personally, this month in Blastocystis research has been a month of putting together grant proposals - more so now than usual -, many initiatives are being taken, networks are being expanded, and interesting data are accumulating from various projects... I hope to be back with details on some of this soon!
Literature:
Maas L, Dorigo-Zetsma JW, de Groot CJ, Bouter S, Plötz FB, & van Ewijk BE (2013). Detection of intestinal protozoa in paediatric patients with gastrointestinal symptoms by multiplex real-time PCR. Clinical Microbiology and Infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases PMID: 24131443
