First Molecular Diagnosis of Lophomoniasis: the End of a Controversial Story

We report a case of lophomoniasis in an immunocompetent patient with acute paranasal sinusitis from the north of Iran whose disease was diagnosed by both microscopic and molecular methods.

The patient, a 40-year-old woman, suffered from upper respiratory infection, was referred to the Iranian National Registry Center for Lophomoniasis (INRCL) at the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, for diagnosis. A direct wet mount of nasal discharge revealed the flagellate protozoa morphologically identified Lophomonas blattarum. Moreover, through a specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of nasal discharge, a 214-bp band was observed, confirming the genus Lophomonas spp. The patient was treated successfully with metronidazole 500 mg t.i.d for 1 week.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular detection of lophomoniasis in the literature. According to our preliminary study, a reliable PCR test is available now for detecting the Lophomonas parasite.