![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Our objective was to determine the prevalence of intestinal protozoa in homosexual men attending a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic, to compare it with the prevalence in a previous study from the same clinic, and to examine the relationship, if any, between the presence of protozoa and sexual practices.
Men who consecutively attended the clinic and who gave a history of having had recent sexual contact with another male were invited to provide a stool sample for protozoological examination. Diarrhoeal samples were examined by direct microscopy for trophozoites and cysts and, after staining, for Cryptosporidium spp. In all cases, a modified formol–ether method was used to concentrate protozoal cysts before microscopy.
One hundred and seventy-five of the 257 men invited to participate in the study provided a stool sample. At least one species of protozoan was found in 99 (57%) men. Giardia intestinalis was identified in only 5 (3%) men. Blastocystis hominis was found in 46 (26%) men, but the presence of this protozoan was not associated with diarrhoea. Other than the prevalence of Entamoeba dispar/histolytica and G. intestinalis, which remained unchanged, the proportion of men who harboured the non-pathogenic protozoa was significantly increased from 1981/82. A correlation between oral-anal sex or peno-insertive or peno-receptive anal intercourse and the prevalence of protozoa was not found. There was also no correlation between the number of species of protozoa carried and these sexual practices. The presence of protozoa was not associated with a history of foreign travel or sexual contact with a man who had recently travelled outside the UK.
The study showed that, although the prevalence of infection is low, giardiasis is still transmissible amongst homosexual men. A correlation between individual sexual practices and the prevalence of intestinal protozoa was not found.
References
| 1. | Drusin, L.M. , Genvert, G. , Topf-Olstein, B. , Levy-Zombeck, E. . Shigellosis. Another sexually transmitted disease? Br J Vener Dis 1976; 52: 348–50 Google Scholar | Medline |
| 2. | Phillips, S.C. , Mildvan, D. , William, D.C. , Gleb, A.M. , White, M.C. . Sexual transmission of enteric protozoa and helminths in a venereal disease-clinic population. N Engl J Med 1981; 305: 603–60 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline |
| 3. | Robertson, D.H.H. , McMillan, A. , Young, H. . Clinical Practice in Sexually Transmissible Diseases, 2nd edn. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1989: Chap 38 Google Scholar |
| 4. | van der Laar, M.J.W. , Pickering, J. , van der Hoek, J.A.R. , van Griensven, G.J.P. , Coutinho, R.A. , van de Water, H.P.A. . Declining gonorrhoea rates in the Netherlands, 1976-88; consequences for the AIDS epidemic. Genitourin Med 1990; 66: 148–55 Google Scholar | Medline |
| 5. | Johnson, A.M. , Gill, O.N. . Evidence for recent changes in sexual behaviour in homosexual men in England and Wales. Philos Trans R Soc Lond [Biol] 1989; 325: 153–61 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline |
| 6. | Ridley, D.S. , Hagwood, B.C. . The value of formol–ether concentration of faecal cysts and ova. J Clin Pathol 1956; 9: 74–6 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline |
| 7. | Henriksen, SvAa , Pohlenz, J.F.L. . Staining of cryptosporidia by a modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique. Acta Vet Scand 1981; 22: 594–6 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline |
| 8. | Laughon, B.E. , Druckman, D.A. , Cernon, A. . Prevalence of enteric pathogens in homosexual men with and without acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Gastroenterology 1988; 94: 984–93 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline |
| 9. | Cotte, L. , Rabodonirina, M. , Piens, M.A. , Perreard, M. , Mojon, M. , Trepo, C. . Prevalence of intestinal protozoans in French patients infected with HIV. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 1993; 6: 1024–9 Google Scholar | Medline |
| 10. | Markell, E.K. , Voge, M. . Medical Parasitology, 4th edn. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1976: 63 Google Scholar |
| 11. | Sargeaunt, P.G. , Williams, J.E. . Electrophoretic isoenzyme patterns of the pathogenic and non-pathogenic intestinal amoebae in man. Trans R Soc Med Hyg 1979; 73: 225–7 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline |
| 12. | Diamond, L.S. , Clark, C.G. . A redescription of Entamoeba histolytica Schaudinn 1903 (amended Walker 1911) separating it from Entamoeba dispar (Brumpt 1925). J Eukaryot Microbiol 1993; 40: 340–4 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline |
| 13. | Sargeaunt, P.G. , Oates, J.K. , Maclennan, I. , Oriel, J.D. , Goldmeier, D. . Entamoeba histolytica in male homosexuals. Br J Vener Dis 1983; 59: 193–5 Google Scholar | Medline |
| 14. | Law, C.L.H. , Walker, J. , Qassim, M.H. . Factors associated with the detection of Entamoeba histolytica in homosexual men. Int J STD AIDS 1991; 2: 346–50 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals |
| 15. | Editorial. Lancet 1991; 337: 521–2 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline |
