Abstract
Pentatrichomonas hominis (P. hominis) is a large intestinal flagellated protozoan infecting humans. Little is known about the epidemiology of P.hominis in Egypt, its association with gastrointestinal symptoms and the co-infection with other parasites. Demographic and clinical data were collected from 180 school-aged children. Parasitological examination of fecal samples was done using direct wet mount, formalin ethyl-acetate, Kato–Katz and cultivation on Jones’ medium to detect P. hominis and associated parasitic infection. The diagnosis of P. hominis was confirmed using Giemsa stain and scanning electron microscopy. The prevalence of P. hominis was 13.8% (25 out of 180 children). The prevalence of parasitic co-infection was significantly higher in P. hominis infected (84%, 21 participants) than in non-infected children (56%, 87 participants). The presence of abdominal pain and diarrhea in P. hominis infected children was higher than in non-infected children (84% and 32% vs. 76% and 18%), respectively. The difference was not statistically significant. This is the first report of P. hominis in Egypt. The significant association between P. hominis and other intestinal parasites need more investigations. Further studies are needed to understand the epidemiology and pathogenicity of P. hominis.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. Hend Aly El-Taweel at parasitology department, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Egypt for her excellent technical assistance.
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The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Medical Research Institute (MRI), Alexandria University (IORG 0008812). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments. All procedures performed in study were in accordance with the ethical standards of Medical Research Institute (MRI), Alexandria University.
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Verbal consent was obtained from all participants. A written informed consent was taken from all the study participants and children’s guardians after explanation of the study purpose.
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Although there is no data about the prevalence of P. hominis in Egypt, sample size should be calculated. Direct wet mount examination should be done within 30 min to detect the trophozoite. Jones’ medium should be compared with another media for quality control.
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Abdo, S.M., Ghallab, M.M.I., Elhawary, N.M. et al. Pentatrichomonas hominis and other intestinal parasites in school-aged children: coproscopic survey. J Parasit Dis 46, 896–900 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-022-01506-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-022-01506-1