Blastocystis Hominis infection and Its Relation with Other Intestinal Parasites among Outpatients, Sohag, Egypt

Intestinal parasites have a worldwide distribution, mainly in regions with precarious socio-economic and hygiene conditions. Blastocystis spp. is an anaerobic enteric protozoan inhabits human intestinal tract. Blastocystis hominis elicits a big controversy about its pathogenicity and its relation to bowel disease conditions. Our aim for this work is to determine the frequency of Blastocystis hominis infection among outpatients attending Ministry of Health hospitals and units in Sohag City and if there is a relation between Blastocystis hominis and other intestinal parasitic infections. The present research involved 150 cases from outpatient clinics of randomly selected hospitals and units in Sohag City from June 2016 to January 2017. Fresh stool samples were gathered and examined. Thirty-three samples (22%) were positive for parasitic infection, of whome, only 25 cases (75.8%) were positive for B. hominis whether single or mixed with other parasites. Single B. hominis infection represented 36% of positive cases. Out of 25 cases infected with B. hominis, 4 cases had mixed infection with G. lamblia (16%) (P-value = 0.027) and 10 cases had combined infection with E. coli (40%) (P-value < 0.001). In conclusion, 33 cases had parasitic infections of whom, 25 cases were positive for B. hominis. G. lamblia and E. coli were more common with B. hominis than other parasitic infection. This might be attributed to symmetry in genetic characters or the need for the same environmental conditions. To confirm this relation and its reasons we need further investigations.