College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China.
Hebei Children's Hospital, Shijiazhuang, China.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2020 Nov;67(6):2789-2796. doi: 10.1111/tbed.13644. Epub 2020 Jun 7.
Blastocystis sp. is a common enteric protist that colonizes humans and a wide range of animals. Although some studies have reported incidences of Blastocystis sp. in humans and animals in China, there are limited data available concerning the prevalence among people and non-human primates. The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence, subtype distribution and genetic characteristics of Blastocystis sp. in primates, and to investigate the potential for zoonotic transmission between human and non-human primates. A total of 185 faecal samples from non-human primates and 1,118 samples from human volunteers were collected in Hebei province. The overall prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in non-human primates was 32.97% (61/185) based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the barcode region of the SSU rRNA gene. Rates of prevalence were highest among Cercopithecus neglectus (100%, 5/5) and were absent in Cebus apella and Colobus guereza. The prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in humans was 34.88% (390/1,118), and the highest rates were 41.24% in children three years of age. There was a higher detection rate in humans with diarrhoea (53.68%). Five potentially zoonotic subtypes (ST1, ST2, ST3, ST5 and ST9) were identified; among these, ST1 and ST2 were more prevalent than others in non-human primates. Similarly, two subtypes (ST2 and ST5) were detected in humans and ST2 was also the most prevalent. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the prevalence and subtype composition of Blastocystis sp. in Hebei province, and the first study concerning the relationship of Blastocystis sp. among primates in China. The findings of the study will improve our understanding of the genetic diversity and public health potential of Blastocystis sp. enteric infections in addition to providing a profile of subtype characteristics of Blastocystis sp. in primates of northern China.
芽囊原虫是一种常见的肠道原生动物，寄生于人类和广泛的动物中。尽管一些研究报告了中国人类和动物中芽囊原虫的感染情况，但关于人群和非人类灵长类动物中流行率的数据有限。本研究的目的是确定芽囊原虫在灵长类动物中的流行率、亚群分布和遗传特征，并调查人类和非人类灵长类动物之间发生人畜共患传播的潜力。共采集了河北省 185 份非人灵长类动物粪便样本和 1118 份人类志愿者样本。基于 SSU rRNA 基因条码区的聚合酶链反应（PCR）扩增，非人类灵长类动物中芽囊原虫的总流行率为 32.97%（61/185）。Cercopithecus neglectus 的流行率最高（100%，5/5），而 Cebus apella 和 Colobus guereza 则不存在。人类中芽囊原虫的流行率为 34.88%（390/1118），年龄在 3 岁的儿童中流行率最高，为 41.24%。腹泻患者的检出率较高（53.68%）。共鉴定出 5 种潜在的人畜共患病亚型（ST1、ST2、ST3、ST5 和 ST9）；其中，非人类灵长类动物中 ST1 和 ST2 的流行率高于其他亚型。同样，在人类中也检测到两种亚型（ST2 和 ST5），其中 ST2 也是最常见的亚型。据我们所知，这是河北省芽囊原虫流行率和亚型组成的首次报告，也是中国首次研究灵长类动物中芽囊原虫的关系。该研究结果将提高我们对肠道感染芽囊原虫遗传多样性和公共卫生潜力的认识，同时为中国北方灵长类动物中芽囊原虫的亚型特征提供一个概况。
