Prevalence of Dientamoeba fragilis among patients consulting complementary medicine practitioners in the British Isles
- 1Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Sultan Qaboos University, College of Medicine and Health Science, Al-Khod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
- 2Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds General Infirmary, Old Medical School, Department of Medical Microbiology, Leeds, UK
- Dr H Schuster, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Sultan Qaboos University, College of Medicine and Health Science, Post Box 35, Post Code 123, Al-Khod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman; hel_schuster{at}yahoo.co.uk
- Accepted 22 September 2008
- Published Online First 24 October 2008
Abstract
A high prevalence of Dientamoeba fragilis is reported in faecal samples collected from patients attending complementary medicine practitioners in the British Isles. Specimens were collected directly after passing into sodium acetate–acetic acid–formalin (SAF). During two observation periods in 2002–04 and 2005–07, a D fragilis prevalence of 14.6% (n = 543) and 16.9% (n = 421), respectively, was recorded. These results confirm a surprisingly high prevalence of D fragilis among a selected population. Clinical information was only available for half of the patients with D fragilis; 50% of requests with clinical information reported gastrointestinal symptoms. For further work on its pathogenic role and prevalence among patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, immediate collection in SAF should be considered the optimal sampling modality for UK based laboratories.
Footnotes
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Competing interests: None.
