6. Final host : Human. Reservoir host : pigs (Zoonotic). Habitat : cecum and colon. Transmission : faecal-oral route and pigs appear to be the source of most human cases. G.D. Cosmopolitan and can be found wherever pigs are found Disease : Balantidiasis or balantidial dysentry Pig farmer. Balantidium coli
12. Trophozoites are tissue invaders. They secrete proteolytic enzymes ( Hyaluronidase) which digest the epithelium of the large intestine. Ulceration results in bleeding and secondary bacterial infection. Perforation of the large intestine has occurred in some fatal cases. Balantidium coli: Pathology
13. 1. Examination of stool samples, looking for trophozoites and cysts, which are readily identified because of their large size. Cyst Trophozoite Laboratory diagnosis
14. 2. Biopsy of the colon: Numerous trophozoites in intestinal tissue.
http://www.umanitoba.ca/science/zoology/faculty/dick/z346/balanhome.html Balantidiosis is acquired by humans via the fecal-oral route from the normal host, the pig, where it is asymptomatic. divide by transverse binary fission.
In areas where pigs are the main domestic animal, the prevalence of human infection can be high. Pig farmers, butchers or people working in slaughterhouses are particularly susceptible to infection. Human infection is fairly rare in temperate areas, although once the infection is established, it can spread to others, particularly where poor environmental sanitation and personal hygiene are found. The organism is cosmopolitan and can be found wherever pigs are found. Disease appears to be a problem mostly of developing countries, where water sources may be contaminated with porcine or human feces. B. coli can become an opportunistic parasite in immunosuppressed hosts living in urban environments, where pigs are not a factor in infection.
Trophozoite is the disease-producing stage, while the cyst is the infective stage. Both cysts and trophozoites pass in the feces, but only the environmentally-resistant cyst can survive outside the body and contaminate food and water. bean-shaped macronucleus. The mouth (oral apparatus) is located at the tapering anterior end, and the cytopyge (anus) is at the rounded posterior end
The cyst of Balantidium is the transmissive stage of the organism. Because of its thickened wall, it is protected from desiccation and other environmental stress. It survives best in humid surroundings protected from direct sunlight. The trophic ciliate is reportedly unable to survive passage through the stomach because of the low pH of gastric fluid. Cysts, however, were not produced in cultures of balantidia (32, 80), nor are they produced in cases of acute dysentery.
When the cyst is eaten, it “hatches” (excysts) in the host’s intestine, releasing the motile form that begins to feed on cell fragments, starch grains and other organic matter. Balantidium has a simple life cycle, as follows: dormant cyst to trophozoite and trophozoite to cyst. Transmission is direct, from a contaminated water or food supply to humans (Fig. 1). No intermediate host, as occurs with many other parasitic species, is needed.
Balantidium coli is an intestinal protozoan parasite. The life cycle of this parasite is very similar to that of Entamoeba histolytica . Unlike Entamoeba histolytica , the Balantidium coli trophozoites can encyst after being passed in the faeces. Balantidium coli can infect many species of mammal and human infections are most likely acquired by infection from a reservoir host. Death is an infrequent consequence of balantidiosis, but in developing countries with undernourished and overparasitized populations, it can make the difference between a healthy life and chronic debilitation.
Sexual reproduction as conjugation has been reported for Balantidium , but information is lacking about details of nuclear events.
The cyst of Balantidium is the transmissive stage of the organism. Because of its thickened wall, it is protected from desiccation and other environmental stress (Fig. 4). It survives best in humid surroundings protected from direct sunlight. The trophic ciliate is reportedly unable to survive passage through the stomach because of the low pH of gastric fluid, but Balantidium trophozoites inoculated into the stomach of guinea pigs have been found in the colon (56). The process of encystment begins in the colon and rectum of the host, and cysts are generally found in formed feces (56). Cysts, however, were not produced in cultures of balantidia (32, 80), nor are they produced in cases of acute dysentery.
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