WHO Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Western Australia, Australia.
Vet Parasitol. 2010 Apr 19;169(1-2):8-17. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2009.12.032. Epub 2010 Jan 4.
Blastocystis is an enteric protist and one of the most frequently reported parasitic infections in humans and a variety of animal hosts. It has also been reported in numerous parasite surveys of animals in zoological gardens and in particular in non-human primate species. PCR-based methods capable of the direct detection of Blastocystis in faeces were used to detect Blastocystis from various hosts, including non-human primates, Australian native fauna, elephants and giraffes, as well as their keepers from a Western Australian zoo. Additional faecal samples were also collected from elephants and giraffes from four other zoos in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Antwerp (Belgium), Melbourne and Werribee (Australia). Information regarding the general health and lifestyle of the human volunteers were obtained by questionnaire. Overall, 42% and 63% of animals and zoo-keepers sampled from the Western Australian zoo were positive for Blastocystis, respectively. The occurrence of Blastocystis in elephants and giraffes from other cities was similar. This is the first report of Blastocystis found in the elephant, giraffe, quokka, southern hairy nosed wombat and western grey kangaroo. Three novel and what appear to be highly host-specific subtypes (STs) of Blastocystis in the elephant, giraffe and quokka are also described. These findings indicate that further exploration of the genetic diversity of Blastocystis is crucial. Most zoo-keepers at the Perth Zoo were harbouring Blastocystis. Four of these zoo-keeper isolates were identical to the isolates from the southern hairy nosed wombat and five primate species.
芽囊原虫是一种肠原生动物，是人类和各种动物宿主中最常报告的寄生感染之一。它也在动物园动物的众多寄生虫调查中以及特别是在非人类灵长类物种中被报道。使用能够直接检测粪便中芽囊原虫的基于 PCR 的方法，从包括非人类灵长类动物、澳大利亚本土动物、大象和长颈鹿以及来自西澳大利亚动物园的饲养员在内的各种宿主中检测到了芽囊原虫。还从阿姆斯特丹（荷兰）、安特卫普（比利时）、墨尔本和 Werribee（澳大利亚）的另外四个动物园的大象和长颈鹿中收集了额外的粪便样本。通过问卷获得了有关人类志愿者一般健康和生活方式的信息。总体而言，来自西澳大利亚动物园的动物和饲养员中分别有 42%和 63%对芽囊原虫呈阳性。其他城市的大象和长颈鹿中芽囊原虫的发生情况相似。这是首次在大象、长颈鹿、短尾矮袋鼠、南部毛鼻袋熊和西部灰袋鼠中发现芽囊原虫。还描述了在大象、长颈鹿和短尾矮袋鼠中发现的三种新型且似乎高度宿主特异性的芽囊原虫亚型（ST）。这些发现表明，进一步探索芽囊原虫的遗传多样性至关重要。珀斯动物园的大多数饲养员都携带芽囊原虫。其中 4 个饲养员分离株与南部毛鼻袋熊和 5 种灵长类动物的分离株相同。
