La balantidiose : une zoonose du porc pas toujours asymptomatique

Balantidiosis, parasitic zoonosis due to a ciliated protozoon, covers a broad spectrum, but mostly in tropical areas. Human is infested by fecal-oral route, with contaminated drinking water and food which are contaminated by cysts shed in feces of pigs. Humans remain mostly asymptomatic as does the pig. In other cases, the patients may develop dysentery similar to intestinal amoebiasis. Complications are seldom and death is infrequent. Laboratory diagnosis is made by stools examination, Tetracyclines and metronidazole are treatments of choice.