title: Human intestinal sarcocystosis in Iran: there but not seen.
abstract: Human sarcocystosis is a rare infection caused by the genus Sarcocystis who human serve as definitive (intestinal form of infection) host or intermediate (extraintestinal form) host for some various Sarcocystis species. The detection of Sarcocystis oocysts/sporocysts in the feces usually incidentally and is achieved by microscopic examination of the fresh or preserved specimens. To rule out any parasitological etiology among 23,875 (aged 2 months to 95 years) apparently immunocompetent Iranian individuals (from October of 2010 to June of 2016) with abdominal discomforts referred to several teaching hospitals and local clinical laboratories in Fars Province, Iran, their fecal samples were examined using light microscopy. Most pathogenic parasite-positive and doubtful samples were sent to the Intestinal Protozoology Laboratories of Fasa and Shiraz Universities of Medical Sciences to further examination to detect probable co-infection with other underdiagnose parasitoses. In addition to the common protozoal and helminthic infections, during the course of examining stool specimens using direct smear mixed with saline or iodine mounts and by formalin-ethyl acetate techniques, four cases of intestinal Sarcocystis infection as only or concurrently infected with other parasites were found. The present paper presents cases of human intestinal Sarcocystis infection in Iran. Since Sarcocystis are small in size and usually rare in stool, they often go unnoticed. It should be noted that stool smears must be examined with great care to avoid misinterpretation of Sarcocystis infections in microscopic examinations. To the best of our knowledge, co-infection of intestinal sarcocystosis and other principal parasitoses in stool investigations has not been reported earlier.
authors.affiliation: HIV/AIDS Research Center, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran. agholim@hotmail.com.|Department of Microbiology, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran. agholim@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agholi
authors.affiliation: Vice Chancellery of Clinical Affairs, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Taghadosi
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell and Transgenic Technology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Davood
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mehrabani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zahabiun
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sharafi
authors.affiliation: Basic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Motazedian
authors.affiliation: Basic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Gholam Reza
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Hatam
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahrbanou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naderi Shahabadi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007422:Intestines / Q000469:parasitology*; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D012522:Sarcocystis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012523:Sarcocystosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Human; Intestinal sarcocystosis; Iran; Sarcocystis; Sporocyst