{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,27]],"date-time":"2026-06-27T06:42:24Z","timestamp":1782542544845,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765929600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      sp. is a common zoonotic protozoan found in both humans and animals. Epidemiological investigations seldom concentrate on this parasite, frequently underestimating its medical significance. The current study determined the presence and genetic characteristics of\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      sp. in diarrheal patients from Zhuhai City, China.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 283 fecal samples were collected from diarrheal patients for DNA extraction.\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      subtypes (STs) were identified by analyzing the DNA sequences of the small ribosomal subunit of the parasite isolates.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The overall infection rate of\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      among the patients was 4.9% (14\/283). The infection rate of\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      was significantly higher in female patients (8.1%) than in male patients (2.9%); it was also higher in the elderly (6.3%) and adults (6.7%) compared to children (2.9%), although the difference was not statistically significant. Additionally, the infection rates of\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      in rural (5.0%) and urban (4.9%) areas were consistent. Three known STs, including ST1 (n = 5), ST2 (n = 1) and ST3 (n = 8) were identified. A total of nine sequences were obtained across the three STs of\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      , including four known and five novel sequences.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This study is the first to report on the distribution of\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      STs among individuals with diarrhea in Zhuhai, China, revealing potential transmission of the parasite both from human-to-human and from animals to humans. Given the ongoing debate regarding the pathogenicity of\n                      <jats:italic>Blastocystis<\/jats:italic>\n                      , it is recommended that patients suffering from diarrhea be closely monitored to identify and address the underlying causes, thereby enhancing their health outcomes.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2025.1732588","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T06:35:37Z","timestamp":1765953337000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A cross - sectional investigation on the molecular infection rate and subtype distribution of Blastocystis among diarrhea patients in Zhuhai, Southern Guangdong Province, China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Lijie","family":"Sun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shudong","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhongkai","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guangxu","family":"Ren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huicong","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-022-07731-0","article-title":"Blastocystis occurrence in water sources worldwide from 2005 to 2022: a review","volume":"122","author":"Attah","year":"2023","journal-title":"Parasitol. 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