title: Genetic diversity of blastocystis isolated from cattle in khorramabad, iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Blastocystis is a zoonotic protozoan parasite living in the digestive system of some vertebrates. This parasite has some subtypes, pathogenicity status of which has still remained controversial.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the subtype of Blastocystis in infected cattle.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 196 isolates from cattle stool samples collected from slaughterhouse in Khorramabad city, Iran, in 2012. Genomic DNA was extracted and to determine the Blastocystis subtype, seven pairs of sequence-tagged sites (STS) primers were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 196 specimens, 19 (9.6%) were infected with Blastocystis. Among the 19 positive samples, the most common subtype was ST5 (47.36 %), followed by ST3 (10.53%) and ST6 (10.53%). Two (10.53%) samples had mixed infections by ST3 and ST5. The four isolates not ampliﬁed by any STS primers were probably unknown genotypes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, the highest prevalence was for ST5, which is so important for epidemiology and risk of human infection. The report related to ST3 in cattle as a subtype of human showed mutual infection between human and cattle. Another important point in this study was the ST6 report. Finally, it seems that gathering epidemiological data is needed for a better understanding of the potential animal reservoirs for human infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Ebrahim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Badparva
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Javid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sadraee
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Farnaz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kheirandish
keywords: Blastocystis; Cattle; Iran; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Subtype