Disentangling social, environmental, and zoonotic transmission pathways of a gastrointestinal protozoan (<i>Blastocystis</i> spp.) in northeast Madagascar

Abstract

Our findings suggest that Blastocystis is most likely spread through environmental pathways within villages, rather than through social or animal contact. The most likely mechanisms involve fecal contamination of the environment by infected individuals or shared food and water sources. These findings shed new light on human-pathogen ecology and mechanisms for reducing disease transmission in rural, low-income settings.