Blastocystis sp. is the most prevalent protozoan parasite in
humans and affects a broad range of animals. Blastocystis
infections are prevalent in humans in Egypt however, there is
limited information available on animals. The current study
aimed at updating the prevalence in cattle and assessing the
prevalence and distribution of Blastocystis sp. infections and
subtypes in different hosts in Egypt. Faecal samples were
collected from 100 cattle as well as faecal contents of intestines
of 50 ducks and 90 domestic pigeons. Samples were examined
using SSU rRNA gene PCR and sequencing. Studies
conducted on humans, domestic animals, and birds in Egypt
were reviewed and the random effects models was used to
determine the pooled prevalence of infection in humans based
on diagnostic methods. One cattle faecal sample was positive
(1%), while none of examined pigeons or ducks were infected.
ST3 was the identified subtype in the positive isolate which is
phylogenetically related to other isolates from humans and
animals from different countries. A total of 26 studies on human
Blastocystis infections in Egypt were used for meta-analysis,
resulting in a pooled prevalence of 67.9 %, 47.3%, and 33.3%,
based on PCR, culture, and microscopy, respectively. On
contrary, limited studies (n = 7) were conducted on diverse
animal species. The reported subtypes in humans in Egypt
were ST1 - ST4, ST7, ST10, and ST14. Likewise, ST1 – ST7,
ST10, and ST14 were reported in animals, and ST2 in water
samples from Egypt. This study emphasizes the importance of
addressing Blastocystis infections in Egypt from a public health
and zoonotic perspective in terms of proper diagnosis and
control by providing essential data on infections in humans and
animals based on current and published data.