Balantidiasis, a zoonotic protozoan infection, in cattle and domestic pigs

Abstract

Background: Balantidium coli, is a common -opportunistic protozoa of man and animals which causes gastroenteritis. A study was conducted to ascertain the prevalence of balantidiasis in cattle and pig irrespective of age and sex. Methods: In total, 200 faecal samples (150 cattle and 50 pigs) were collected during July to December, 2016 in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh and Modified Stoll’s Ova dilution technique was used to screen the faecal samples for B. coli under microscope. The cysts or trophozoites of B. coli were identified based on the morphological features using standard keys. Results: B. coli cysts and/or trophozoites were detected in 103 samples (51.5%), where comparatively high prevalence was observed in cattle (54.7%) than pig (42.0%). Prevalence of balantidiasis was significantly high in adult cattle (70.4%) compared to that of young (40.5%) and calves (31.3%) while the piglet (65.0%) showed high prevalence than the grower (31.3%) and adult (21.4%). In cattle, high rate of infection was recorded in female (58.8%) than male cattle (45.8%) which was statistically insignificant. On the other hand, high rate of infections was recorded in male pigs (54.5%) than female pigs (32.1%). Conclusion: In conclusion, the present study revealed high circulation of B. coli in cattle and pig in Mymensingh district, which poses potential threats to both animal and public health.