PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA: People with persistent diarrhoea, constipation or bloated stomach should go for medical checks as they could be hosting a newly-discovered micro-organism or pathogen called Blastocystis, said world renowned Malaysian scientist Professor Dr G. Suresh Kumar.
He said it could lead to serious illness if not treated correctly. The possibility of it leading to cancer is being researched now but it can still cause other serious gastro-intestinal ailments.
He said the pathogen could be passed to humans through animal faeces and was water-borne.
"Doctors have taken the complaints lightly without getting to the bottom of it," said Dr Suresh Kumar, 47, a researcher and lecturer at Universiti Malaya's Department of Parasitology.
He said places that could cause infection were dirty toilets, rivers, oxidation ponds, abattoirs, and livestock breeding farms.
Those who suffer from the symptoms are animal handlers, the orang asli (indigenous people of Malaysia), children at day care centres and swimmers.
"Although animal faeces carries the pathogen, domestic animals like dogs and cats are not likely to pass it on," he said.
Dr Kumar recently received the Science and Technology Award 2008 worth RM30,000 ($12,440) from Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili.
The award was presented by Malaysia Toray Science Foundation.
His team was responsible for placing Malaysia in the frontiers of international Blastocystis research and his pioneering work had been constantly referred to.
He said general practitioners should recommend laboratory checks for Blastocystis on patients' stool samples.
