Yamilé Aleaga¹, Yaxsier de Armas², María Ginori³ and Luis Fonte⁴*

¹Department of Microbiology, Hospital Center of Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana, Cuba
²Department of Pathology, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana, Cuba
³Department of Teaching, Polyclinic “Plaza de la Revolución”, Havana, Cuba
⁴Department of Parasitology, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana, Cuba

*Corresponding Author:Luis Fonte, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana, Cuba.

Received: July 10, 2023; Published: September 10, 2023

Abstract

Introduction: Blastocystis spp. is a parasite of the chromistic kingdom capable of colonizing humans at the gastrointestinal level. During the last decades, several studies with different designs found an association between blastocystosis and iron deficiency anemia. Consequently, the involvement of Blastocystis spp. infection in the development of iron deficiency anemia in Cuban pregnant women should be carefully studied and, according to the results, adequately controlled.

Methods: Using the native Lugol method and concentration techniques, three stool samples collected from Cuban pregnant women were examined microscopically to demonstrate intestinal parasites. In addition, parasite molecular detection was performed on all samples. It was achieved by a conventional polymerase chain reaction method to specifically amplify a ~ 600-bp fragment of the SSU rRNA gene of the parasite. Blood specimens for hematologic parameters were collected.

Results: The presence of intestinal parasites was detected in 31.9% (43 out of 135) of the pregnant women screened. Protozoa were the only organisms found. Of all the pregnant women, Blastocystis spp. was the species more frequently present (in 28.9%, 39 out of 135). In 41 of the participants (30.4%, 41 out 135) was demonstrated anemia, and in 35 (25.9%, 35 out of 135), anemia was classified as iron deficiency anemia. The proportion of pregnant women parasitized by Blastocystis spp. who suffered from this type of anemia was significantly higher (p = 0.02).

Conclusion: This study microscopically revealed a high prevalence of Blastocystis spp. infection in Cuban pregnant women. The use of advanced molecular techniques permitted us to confirm that finding. At the same time, we demonstrated that gravid women infected with Blastocystis spp. are at high risk of suffering from iron deficiency anemia.

Keywords: Blastocystis spp. Infection; Molecular Detection; Pregnancy; Anemia; Iron Deficiency Anemia

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Citation

Citation: Luis Fonte., et al. “Molecular Detection of Blastocystis spp. in Cuban Pregnant Women". Acta Acta Scientific Women's Health 5.10 (2023): 32-38.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Luis Fonte., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.