Occupational Health & Safety

Balantidiasis

Balantidium coli, a large ciliated protozoan, has a worldwide distribution and is common in domestic swine, which is generally regarded as the main reservoir for human infection. Nonhuman primates can also harbor the organism enterically.

The mode of transmission is by ingestion of cysts from feces of infected hosts. In epidemics, transmission is primarily by fecal-contaminated water. Sporadic transmission is by transfer of feces to mouth by hands, or by contaminated water or food.

Most humans appear to have a high natural resistance to this infection. However, ulcerative colitis characterized by diarrhea, abdominal pain, tenesmus, nausea, and vomiting can occur in severe cases of diarrhea.

The treatment of clinically apparent infections in a laboratory-animal host should be coupled with good sanitation and personal hygiene practices to eliminate the zoonotic transmission of this organism in an animal facility.