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Balantidium coli is a parasitic species of ciliate alveolates that causes the disease balantidiasis. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] It is the only member of the ciliate phylum known to be pathogenic to humans. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Balantidium coli exists in either of two developmental stages: trophozoites and cysts. [3] In the trophozoite form, they can be oblong or spherical, and are typically 30 to 150 μm in length and 25 to 120 μm in width. [4] It is its size at this stage that allows Balantidium coli to be characterized as the largest protozoan parasite of humans. [3]
The Balantidium coli species has a worldwide distribution, but is more frequent in subtropical and temperate climates. The medical condition balantidiasis is particularly prevalent where poor hygiene and undernourishment weaken a population coincide with living in close contact with pigs, the main reservoir for the species.
Balantidium coli observed in patients with dysentery was originally described as Paramecium coli by Malmstein in 1857. In 1858, Edouard Claparède and Johannes Lachmann created the genus Balantidium and reclassified B. entozoon as its type species. [3] Stein in 1863, reclassified Paramecium coli into the genus Balantidium.
Balantidium coli: parasitic ciliate [50] 50–100 Paramecium caudatum: free-living ciliate [51] 120–330 Amoeba proteus: free-living amoebozoan [52] 220–760 Noctiluca scintillans: free-living dinoflagellate [53] 700–2000 Syringammina fragilissima: foraminifera amoeba [43] up to 200 000
The cytostome forms an invagination on the cell surface and is typically directed towards the nucleus of the cell. [2] The cytostome is often labeled as the entire invagination, but in fact the cytostome only constitutes the opening of the invagination at the surface of the cell.
The fecal coliform assay is intended to be an indicator of fecal contamination; more specifically of E. coli which is an indicator microorganism for other pathogens that may be present in feces. Presence of fecal coliforms in water may not be directly harmful, and do not necessarily indicate the presence of feces. [1]
Coley's toxins (also called Coley's toxin, [1] Coley's vaccine, [2] Coley vaccine, Coley's fluid or mixed bacterial vaccine) is a mixture containing toxins filtered from killed bacteria of species Streptococcus pyogenes and Serratia marcescens, named after William Coley, a surgical oncologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery who developed the mixture in the late 19th century as a treatment ...