A form of dysentery caused by a protozoon known as Balantidium coli – a common parasite in pigs, which are usually the source of infection. It responds to metronidazole.
n. an infestation of the large intestine with the parasitic protozoan *Balantidium coli. Humans usually become infected by ingesting food or drink contaminated with cysts from the faeces of a pig. The parasite invades and destroys the intestinal wall, causing ulceration and *necrosis, and the patient may experience diarrhoea and dysentery. Balantidiasis is a rare cause of dysentery, mainly affecting farm workers; it is treated with various antibiotics.
n. a genus of one of the largest parasitic *protozoans affecting humans (70 ?m or more in length). The oval body is covered with threadlike cilia (for locomotion). B. coli, normally living in the gut of pigs as a harmless *commensal, occasionally infects humans (see balantidiasis).... balantidium
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