Blastocystis is a ubiquitous parasite that infects a broad range of vertebrate hosts including humans and domestic and wild animals. While human infections have been occasionally associated with gastrointestinal illnesses and/or urticaria, animal infections are not usually associated with disease. However, from a public health perspective, most subtypes isolated in humans have also been isolated from animals raising the question of the importance of animal reservoirs in the epidemiology of this parasite. The identification of Blastocystis in water supplies suggests water can be a potential vehicle in the transmission of this parasite not only for humans but also for animals. In addition, Blastocystis has been detected in retail fresh produce. Knowledge of this parasite has greatly expanded in the last two decades from simple microscopic observations to the application of molecular tools to explore Blastocystis taxonomy and epidemiology. This review provides a comprehensive overview of Blastocystis in animals highlighting the subtype diversity of this widespread and genetically diverse parasite in different animal groups. This information will be useful in understanding the current status of taxonomy, epidemiology, zoonotic potential, and public health importance of Blastocystis.

囊藻是一种普遍存在的寄生虫，可感染包括人以及家畜和野生动物在内的各种脊椎动物宿主。虽然人类感染偶尔与胃肠道疾病和/或荨麻疹有关，但动物感染通常与疾病无关。然而，从公共卫生的角度来看，人类中分离出的大多数亚型也已从动物中分离出来，这提出了动物库在该寄生虫的流行病学中的重要性的问题。对供水中的囊胚芽孢杆菌的鉴定表明，水不仅可能对人类而且对动物而言，都是这种寄生虫传播的潜在媒介。另外，囊藻已在零售新鲜农产品中检测到。在过去的二十年中，这种寄生虫的知识已大大扩展，从简单的显微镜观察到分子工具在探索囊藻分类学和流行病学方面的应用。这篇综述对动物中的囊胚芽孢病进行了全面概述，突出了这种在动物群中广泛分布和遗传上多样化的寄生虫的亚型多样性。这些信息将有助于了解当前的分类，流行病学，人畜共患病的潜力以及囊藻的公共卫生重要性。