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Zoonotic transmission of blastocystis subtype 1 among people in Eastern communities of Thailand: Organic fertilizer from pig feces as a potential source
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Metadata
Document Title
Zoonotic transmission of blastocystis subtype 1 among people in Eastern communities of Thailand: Organic fertilizer from pig feces as a potential source
Author
Ruang-Areerate T., Piyaraj P., Suwannahitatorn P., Ruang-Areerate P., Thita T., Naaglor T., Witee U., Sakboonyarat B., Leelayoova S., Mungthin M.
Name from Authors Collection
Affiliations
Department of Parasitology, Phramongkutklao College of Medicine, Bangkok, Thailand; National Omics Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, Thailand; Drug Research Unit for Malaria, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Military and Community Medicine, Phramongkutklao College of Medicine, Bangkok, Thailand
Type
Article
Source Title
Microbiology Spectrum
ISSN
21650497
Year
2021
Volume
9
Issue
2
Open Access
Hybrid Gold, Green
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
DOI
10.1128/Spectrum.00362-21
Abstract
Blastocystis sp., the most common intestinal protozoa, remains a public health problem among people in many countries, particularly in rural areas of developing countries. The infection usually reflects poor sanitation in communities by waterborne, zoonotic, and person-to-person transmission. Interestingly, at least 17 subtypes (STs) have been reported and are associated with a broad range of animal hosts, including humans. In this study, we reported potential evidence of zoonotic transmission of Blastocystis ST1 in rural communities of eastern Thailand where the overall prevalence of Blastocystis infection was 15.7%. Two major and three minor subtypes were found to be distributed unequally in this region. Of 5 STs, only ST1 was found to be associated with pig feces in an open farm system that produced organic fertilizer for agriculture uses in the community. This finding suggests that properly protective contact and standard production of organic fertilizer from pig feces by-products could be key factors for reducing the prevalence of Blastocystis infection and prevent Blastocystis reinfection among people in the community. IMPORTANCE Blastocystis sp. remains a public health problem among people, particularly in rural areas of many developing countries. The infection usually reflects poor sanitation in communities by waterborne, zoonotic, and person-to-person transmission. In this study, we reported potential evidence of zoonotic transmission of Blastocystis subtype 1 (ST1) in rural communities of eastern Thailand. Two major and three minor subtypes were found to be unequally distributed in this region. Interestingly, only ST1 was found to be associated with pig feces in an open farm system that produced organic fertilizer for agriculture uses in the community. The finding makes significant contributions to genetic and molecular investigations of microbial topics of practical value and suggest that properly protective contact and standard production of organic fertilizer from pig feces by-products could be key factors for reducing the prevalence of Blastocystis infection and prevent Blastocystis reinfection among people in the community. Copyright © 2021 Ruang-areerate et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Keyword
Blastocystis | Fertilizer | Prevalence | Subtype | Thailand | Zoonotic transmission
License
CC BY
Rights
Author
Publication Source
Scopus