Blastocystis Parasite Characterization with Clinical Data from Venezuela

52 patients diagnosed with Blastocystis spp. infection were studied at the Central University of Venezuela. Clinical and epidemiological data were collected, and diagnosis involved direct stool examination, culture, morphology evaluation, parasite load, and stool consistency. DNA was extracted for PCR amplification of the 18S rRNA gene and subtyping via RFLP.

Use Cases

• Analyze associations between parasite subtypes and clinical symptoms based on subtype ST1's link to diarrhea.
• Study correlations between parasite load and stool consistency based on the negative correlation described.
• Investigate morphological forms and their frequency in symptomatic vs asymptomatic individuals based on central body and granular form data.
• Compare molecular subtyping results with morphological diagnosis methods based on the described diagnostic workflow.

Strengths

• Includes 52 patient records with parasitological diagnosis.
• Combines clinical, epidemiological, morphological, and molecular data.
• Provides specific findings like subtype ST1 association with diarrhea and ST3 prevalence in asymptomatic individuals.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the single-site study in Venezuela.

Provenance

Source

maria Alejandra Vethencourt Ysea via figshare

Collection Method

Data collected from patients treated at the Central University of Venezuela, involving stool examination, culture, and molecular analysis.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 16:59:27; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Venezuela