Chilomastix mesnili

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Chilomastix mesnili infects about 3.5% of the population in the US. It is found in humans, chimpanzees, orangutans, monkeys, and pigs. It lives in the cecum and colon. C. mesnili has a similar life style to Giardia lamblia.

Although Chilomastix mesnili is considered non-pathogenic, it often occurs with other parasite infections. C. mensnili maybe be confused with other pathogenic species during diagnosis. It can create a false positive which would result in unnecessary treatment or a false negative which would withhold necessary treatment.

[edit] Sources

Schmidt, G. and Roberts, L. 2005. Foundations of Parasitology (7th ed.), New York: McGraw-Hill