Mexican geographic distribution of Balantidium coli(Ciliophora: Litostomatea: Balantidiidae) and some notes of Latin America balantidiosis

Abstract

In Mexico the number and type of balantidiosis records are not updated, for which the main goal of this work was, based on a bibliographic revision to provide the data of geographic distribution of this parasite, including their hosts. Also, we conducted an analysis of some B. colirecords in Latin America. We found that B. colihas been reported in 19 Mexican states in humans, pigs and other hosts, demonstrating a wide distribution. These data are consistent with favorable conditions for life cycle of the parasitic ciliates, i.e. presence of tropical and subtropical regions. For Latin America, the parasite, mainly hosted in humans, pigs, and other mammals, is distributed in 16 countries, through Central America to South America countries. We conclude that balantidiosis data are still partial,
due to the fact that some records have not been documented.