Abstract
The aim of the research was to determine the prevalence of non-pathogenic protozoa circulating in the human population of Slovakia. We particularly focused on the socially deprived areas with poor sanitation conditions, as they are one of the factors affecting the transmission of these infections. Within this study, 2760 people were coprologically screened for the presence of protozoan cysts. The analyzed group comprised 1173 men and 1587 women from different regions of Slovakia. The total prevalence (2.03%) of non-pathogenic protozoa species was determined. The prevalence of Entamoeba coli was 0.80%, the prevalence of Endolimax nana 0.58%, and the prevalence of Blastocystis hominis was 0.65%. The presence of non-pathogenic protozoa was more frequent in women than that in men, in all age groups. The highest incidence of Entamoeba coli was found in children aged one month – seven years (0.79%), the lowest in the age group of 19–88 years (0.66%). Endolimax nana was most frequent in 8–18 year-olds (0.95%), where the statistical significance was found (p<0.05). The prevalence of Blastocystis hominis by the age group ranged from 0.39 to 0.95%. We did not find any statistical significance (p>0.05) for Entamoeba coli, and similarly for Blastocystis hominis associated with the sex and age. Although the circulation of non-pathogenic protozoa in the human population is far from being limited to the developing countries, their occurrence is also frequent in the population of developed countries. Despite their controversial pathogenicity, they should not be neglected, particularly in the patients with gastrointestinal symptoms.
Conflict of Interest. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval. 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 or comparable ethical standards.
Acknowledgement.
This study was supported and co-financed by VEGA 1/0941/16.
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