Blastocystis is a common enteric protozoan of humans and various species of animals. Culture and microscopic examination of fecal samples is the conventional method for identifying four major forms of Blastocystis (vacuolar, granular, non-vacuolar or cystic). In this article, we compared eight liquid media for cultivation of Blastocystis spp. Study material included fecal samples from clinically healthy pigs. Significant differences in the growth of Blastocystis on individual media were observed.

Blastocystis spp. is a parasite that causes intestinal infection in humans and other animals. A few studies have been performed in Turkey on the distribution of Blastocystis in cattle. In this study, fecal samples were collected from 100 calves and subjected to analysis based on an SSU rRNA gene fragment. The overall prevalence of the disease was determined as 15% (15/100). This rate was 14.04% for females and 16.28% for males. In addition, three Blastocystis subtypes were identified: ST10, ST14, and novel subtypes ST25. To our knowledge, the ST25 subtype was reported with this study for the first time in Turkey. The nucleotide sequences (OM920832-OM920839) obtained in this study were deposited in GenBank. The results obtained will be useful for a better understanding of the epidemiology of Blastocystis spp., and its effects on public health.

Blastocystis sp. is one of the most frequently detected intestinal parasites in humans and can inhabit a wide range of animals. Close contact with animals is one of the transmission factors of Blastocystis sp. infection in humans. In this study, we aimed to investigate the molecular prevalence and subtypes of Blastocystis sp. in stray cats living in İzmir, Turkey. The PCR target- ing the barcode region in the SSU rRNA gene was performed with DNA samples isolated from feces (n:465) to investigate the presence of Blastocystis sp. PCR positive samples were sequen- ced for subtyping analysis. Among the samples analyzed, Blastocystis sp. DNA was detected in 17 (3.65%) of them and sequence data were obtained from only seven isolates. Phylogenetic analysis showed that seven Blastocystis sp. isolates clustered with the reference Blastocystis ST4 isolates. Similarity rates were between 83.22% and 99.25%. In addition, Blastocystis database results confirmed that all of these were “allele 42” corresponding to ST4. As a result, the present study shows for the first time the presence of “ST4 allele 42”, the prevalent subtype in humans, in stray cats in İzmir, Turkey. This finding supports the notion that stray cats can be a source of Blastocystis sp. infection in humans.