1. Balantidium coli
SOULSBY, E. J. L. 1982. Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of
Domesticated Animals. 7th Edition. Bailliere Tindall. Greycoat House,
19 Greycoat Place, London SW. P. SB.
Prepared by:
NOE P. MENDEZ
CENTRAL MINDANAO UNIVERSITY (CMU)
npolomendez@gmail.com

2. Balantidium coli
A parasitic species of ciliate
protozoan that causes the
disease Balantidiasis.
Pathogenic to humans

3. SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
Domain: Eukaryota
Phylum: Ciliophora (Doflein, 1901)
Class: Kinetofragminophorea (De Puytorac et al., 1974)
Order: Vestibuliferida
Family: Balantiididae
Genus: Balantidium
Species: B. coli (Malmsten, 1857)

4. MORPHOLOGY
Trophozoite Cyst

5. MORPHOLOGY
Trophozoite
The two nuclei are
visible:
long and sausage-
shaped macronucleus
Spherical micronucleus

6. MORPHOLOGY
Cyst
Smaller than
trophozoites
Round and have a tough,
heavy cyst wall made of
one or two layers
Faintly yellowish green in
color
Organism can be
recognized within the
cyst by macronucleus

7. LIFE CYCLE

8. TRANSMISSION
Fecal-oral route
Eating meat, fruits, and vegetables that have been
contaminated by an infected person or contaminated
by fecal matter from an infected animal
Drinking and washing food with contaminated water
Having poor hygiene habits

9. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Dysentery

10. DIAGNOSIS
Based on the clinical signs
Post mortem evidence of an ulcerative condition of
the large intestine
Presence of very large numbers of B. coli

11. TREATMENT

12. PREVENTION
Do not use human feces as
fertilizer in agriculture.
Wash your hands after going to
the toilet and before meal.
Only drink pure water.
Wash vegetables and cook meat
properly.
Infective B. coli cysts are killed
by heat.

13. EPIDEMIOLOGY
Balantidiasis
 common in the Philippines, but it can be
found anywhere in the world
Considered to be rare and occurs in less than
1% of the human population
 the problem mostly in developing countries,
where water sources may be contaminated
with swine or human feces

14. THANK YOU! 