Presence of the ciliated protozoan Buxtonella sulcata (Trichostomatia, Balantidiidae) in cattle in Uruguay

Abstract

The aim of this work was to describe the presence of fe­cal cysts of the ciliated protozoan Buxtonella sulcata in cattle feces of Uruguay. This protozoan has been reported worldwide and its commensal or parasitic nature is still debated, although recent reports associate its proliferation with outbreaks of diarrhea. The methodology used for di­agnosis is the Happich & Boray technique of time-con­trolled sedimentation. Of 150 bovine fecal samples from six departments, were processed by this technique 47 pools (three to four samples each), and 13 pools were ob­tained with the presence of B. sulcata cysts (27.7 %). The departments with positive samples were Florida, Rocha and San Jose, and positive categories were calves, heif­ers and steers, nine cow pools being negative. The major morphological differences between fecal cysts of B. sul­cata and the swine and human parasite Balantidium coli are described.