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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffOnce thought to be a harmless yeast, B. hominis is a parasite, a microscopic single-celled organism (protozoan). It behaves like a tiny animal — hunting and gathering other microbes for food. Many protozoa inhabit your gastrointestinal tract and are harmless; others cause disease.
Whether B. hominis is the type of protozoa that causes disease is controversial. While many people who carry B. hominis have no signs or symptoms, others have diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems. Because B. hominis often appears with other organisms, experts aren't sure whether B. hominis causes disease on its own.
It's possible that some people are susceptible to illness caused by B. hominis infection, while others carry the parasite without signs or symptoms.
Many types of protozoa get into the intestinal tract through oral-fecal contact, such as occurs when a person doesn't wash his or her hands thoroughly after using the toilet before preparing food. No one knows for certain how B. hominis is transmitted, but experts suspect it's through oral-fecal contact. Experts do know that the incidence of infection associated with B. hominis increases in places with inadequate sanitation and poor personal hygiene.
- Fact sheet: Blastocystis hominis infection. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/blastocystishominis/factsht_blastocystis_hominis.htm. Accessed June 3, 2010.
- Ortega-Barria E. Blastocystis hominis. In: Long SS, et al., eds. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/203022604-3/1004582449/1679/264.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06687-0..50263-0_4635. Accessed June 3, 2010.
- Leder K, et al. Blastocystis species. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 3, 2010.
- Stensvold CR, et al. Eradication of blastocystis carriage with antimicrobials: Reality or delusion? Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. 2010;44:85.
- Wanke CA. Travelers' diarrhea. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 3, 2010.
- Wash your hands. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HandWashing/. Accessed June 3, 2010.
- Conner BA. Traveler's diarrhea. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2010/chapter-2/travelers-diarrhea.aspx. Accessed June 3, 2010.
- Oral rehydration solutions: Made at home. Rehydration Project. http://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm#recipes. Accessed June 3, 2010.
- NSF standards and certification. Water Quality Association. http://www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?ID=1897. Accessed June 22, 2010.
- Anderson CF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 10, 2010.
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