DISTRIBUTION AND FREQUENCY OF BLASTOCYSTIS SP. BY METHODS OF MICROSCOPY AND CULTIVATION IN FAECES OF RESIDENTS OF...

Area of Science:

• Medical Parasitology
• Clinical Microbiology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Blastocystis sp. is the most common anaerobic intestinal protozoan parasite globally, affecting 1-2 billion people.
• It colonizes both healthy individuals and those with gastrointestinal symptoms.
• Detection methods for Blastocystis sp. include microscopy, culture, immunology, and molecular genetics, each with pros and cons.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in fecal samples from clinically healthy and symptomatic individuals in Kharkiv.
• To compare the effectiveness of microscopic and cultural methods for Blastocystis sp. detection.

Main Methods:

• Microscopic examination of fecal smears stained with Wheatley's modification trichrome stain (mWTS) and Heidenhain's iron-hematoxylin stain (HIHS) after formalin-phosphate-salt buffer enrichment.
• Cultivation of Blastocystis sp. in RPMI/IMDMEM liquid media under anaerobic conditions at 37°C for 5 days.
• Comparative evaluation of detection rates and diagnostic accuracy between microscopy and culture.

Main Results:

• The cultural method showed a slight increase in detection frequency (4.1%) compared to microscopy.
• Cultures were successfully obtained from all microscopically positive samples.
• The cultural method demonstrated higher sensitivity (20.6%) and 100% specificity compared to microscopy.

Conclusions:

• The cultural method is more sensitive and specific for Blastocystis sp. detection in fecal samples than microscopy.
• In vitro diagnostics using culture can improve parasite detection efficiency for epidemiological studies and therapeutic monitoring.
• Further research can utilize culture for drug sensitivity testing, antigen production, and virulence studies.