Investigating the environmental spread of Blastocystis in Ovacık, Tunceli with a One Health approach
Studying the genetic diversity of Blastocystis in rodents, humans, water and soil with metagenomics to understand its transmission from a One Health perspective.
Blastocystis is a genetically diverse protist living in the intestines of humans and many domestic and wild animals; its transmission and pathogenicity are still poorly understood. It has never been screened in rodents in Türkiye.
The project will determine, for the first time in Türkiye, the prevalence, subtypes and alleles of Blastocystis in rodents. Rodent and human faecal samples as well as water and soil samples will be collected in Ovacık (Tunceli), a relatively unpolluted, mountain-enclosed ecosystem, and analysed with metagenomics and bioinformatics to build risk maps and simulation models.
The results aim to support integrated surveillance and prevention strategies for human and animal health in shared ecosystems.
- One Health
- Metagenomics
- Zoonoses