Identification of Balantidium coli in Bovine Feces in the City of Fortaleza, CE.

Abstract

Balantidium coli is the largest ciliated protozoan and the only one capable of infecting humans, although it can also parasitize a wide variety of animals. Pigs are considered its primary reservoir, facilitating zoonotic transmission. The aim of the present study was to identify the presence of Balantidium coli in bovine fecal samples from four different pens in the city of Fortaleza, CE. Four pens containing Girolando bovine females and males were evaluated. From the cemented floor of each pen, 12 fecal samples were collected over four days, totaling 48 samples. The samples for analysis were stored in properly labeled plastic containers. The samples were processed at the Veterinary Clinical Pathology Laboratory (LPCV) of the State University of Ceará, in the Parasitology sector. The method used was Spontaneous Sedimentation. The slides were read in triplicate and the results photographed and recorded in a laboratory protocol. The bovine samples exclusively pertained to the species Bos taurus. Out of the total 48 samples, all were shown to be from polyparasitized animals. In 100% of the coproparasitological analysis results, the presence of Balantidium coli trophozoites was identified. The spontaneous sedimentation technique described in the methodology proved to be an efficient and inexpensive alternative for identifying the parasite in cattle.