Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern Egypt
<i>Blastocystis</i> sp. is a widespread enteric protozoan that frequently infects human and animal groups. Despite its burden and zoonotic potential worldwide, epidemiological investigations remain limited in animal groups that come in contact with humans. Therefore, the largest survey e...
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/11/2259 |
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| author | Doaa Naguib Nausicaa Gantois Jeremy Desramaut Nagah Arafat Gaël Even Gabriela Certad Magali Chabé Eric Viscogliosi |
| author_facet | Doaa Naguib Nausicaa Gantois Jeremy Desramaut Nagah Arafat Gaël Even Gabriela Certad Magali Chabé Eric Viscogliosi |
| author_sort | Doaa Naguib |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. is a widespread enteric protozoan that frequently infects human and animal groups. Despite its burden and zoonotic potential worldwide, epidemiological investigations remain limited in animal groups that come in contact with humans. Therefore, the largest survey ever conducted in North Africa was performed in Egypt with the aim to investigate the prevalence and subtype (ST) distribution of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. in animals. For this purpose, a total of 889 fecal specimens were collected from chickens (217), cattle (373), dogs (144) and cats (155) from six governorates of northern Egypt. These specimens were then screened for the presence of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. using a quantitative real-time PCR, followed by subtyping the isolates. The overall prevalence of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. reached 9.2% (82/889), with the highest infection rates reported in chickens (17.0%) and domestic cattle (11.0%), highlighting an active circulation of the parasite in both animal groups. In contrast, the low prevalence in cats (2.6%) and the absence of the parasite in dogs suggested that pets are not natural hosts of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. ST10 and ST14 were largely predominant in cattle, confirming that both STs represented cattle-adapted STs. The report of one ST3 and one ST4 isolate in this animal group could be explained by an accidental zoonosis from humans to animals. All but one of the subtyped isolates in poultry belonged to ST7, which was considered as an avian ST. The presence of a remaining isolate of ST14 likely reflected a transient infection from contact between birds and cattle feces. The same environmental contamination was also likely the source of the ST14 infection in three of the four positive cats, with the remaining animals infected by ST3 as the result of human-to-animal transmission. These occurrences and subtyping data, combined with those previously collected in the Egyptian population, implies that poultry could play a significant role as reservoir for zoonotic transmission, which would not be the case for cattle and pets. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:07:55Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:07:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-65022586528249f5aaed1a2c5e1e7e2d2023-11-24T09:17:23ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072022-11-011011225910.3390/microorganisms10112259Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern EgyptDoaa Naguib0Nausicaa Gantois1Jeremy Desramaut2Nagah Arafat3Gaël Even4Gabriela Certad5Magali Chabé6Eric Viscogliosi7CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019–UMR 9017–CIIL–Centre d’Infection et d’Immunité de Lille, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, FranceCNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019–UMR 9017–CIIL–Centre d’Infection et d’Immunité de Lille, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, FranceCNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019–UMR 9017–CIIL–Centre d’Infection et d’Immunité de Lille, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, FranceDepartment of Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, EgyptGD Biotech-Gènes Diffusion, F-59000 Lille, FranceCNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019–UMR 9017–CIIL–Centre d’Infection et d’Immunité de Lille, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, FranceCNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019–UMR 9017–CIIL–Centre d’Infection et d’Immunité de Lille, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, FranceCNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019–UMR 9017–CIIL–Centre d’Infection et d’Immunité de Lille, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France<i>Blastocystis</i> sp. is a widespread enteric protozoan that frequently infects human and animal groups. Despite its burden and zoonotic potential worldwide, epidemiological investigations remain limited in animal groups that come in contact with humans. Therefore, the largest survey ever conducted in North Africa was performed in Egypt with the aim to investigate the prevalence and subtype (ST) distribution of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. in animals. For this purpose, a total of 889 fecal specimens were collected from chickens (217), cattle (373), dogs (144) and cats (155) from six governorates of northern Egypt. These specimens were then screened for the presence of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. using a quantitative real-time PCR, followed by subtyping the isolates. The overall prevalence of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. reached 9.2% (82/889), with the highest infection rates reported in chickens (17.0%) and domestic cattle (11.0%), highlighting an active circulation of the parasite in both animal groups. In contrast, the low prevalence in cats (2.6%) and the absence of the parasite in dogs suggested that pets are not natural hosts of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. ST10 and ST14 were largely predominant in cattle, confirming that both STs represented cattle-adapted STs. The report of one ST3 and one ST4 isolate in this animal group could be explained by an accidental zoonosis from humans to animals. All but one of the subtyped isolates in poultry belonged to ST7, which was considered as an avian ST. The presence of a remaining isolate of ST14 likely reflected a transient infection from contact between birds and cattle feces. The same environmental contamination was also likely the source of the ST14 infection in three of the four positive cats, with the remaining animals infected by ST3 as the result of human-to-animal transmission. These occurrences and subtyping data, combined with those previously collected in the Egyptian population, implies that poultry could play a significant role as reservoir for zoonotic transmission, which would not be the case for cattle and pets.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/11/2259<i>Blastocystis</i> sp.intestinal protozoapoultrycattlepetsAfrica |
| spellingShingle | Doaa Naguib Nausicaa Gantois Jeremy Desramaut Nagah Arafat Gaël Even Gabriela Certad Magali Chabé Eric Viscogliosi Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern Egypt Microorganisms <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. intestinal protozoa poultry cattle pets Africa |
| title | Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern Egypt |
| title_full | Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern Egypt |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern Egypt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern Egypt |
| title_short | Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern Egypt |
| title_sort | prevalence subtype distribution and zoonotic significance of i blastocystis i sp isolates from poultry cattle and pets in northern egypt |
| topic | <i>Blastocystis</i> sp. intestinal protozoa poultry cattle pets Africa |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/11/2259 |
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