as a respiratory pathogen-jumping the gun.

Human infections with the protozoan have been increasingly reported in the medical literature over the past three decades. Initial reports were based on microscopic identification of the purported pathogen in respiratory specimens. Later, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to detect , following which there has been a significant increase in reports. In this minireview, we thoroughly examine the published reports of infection to evaluate its potential role as a human pathogen. We examined the published images and videos of purported compared its morphology and motility characteristics with host bronchial ciliated epithelial cells and true derived from cockroaches, analyzed the published PCR that is being used for its diagnosis, and reviewed the clinical data of patients reported in the English and Chinese literature. From our analysis, we conclude that the images and videos from human specimens do not represent true and are predominantly misidentified ciliated epithelial cells. Additionally, we note that there is insufficient clinical evidence to attribute the cases to infection, as the clinical manifestations are non-specific, possibly caused by other infections and comorbidities, and there is no associated tissue pathology attributable to . Finally, our analysis reveals that the published PCR is not specific to and can amplify DNA from commensal trichomonads. Based on this thorough review, we emphasize the need for rigorous scientific scrutiny before a microorganism is acknowledged as a novel human pathogen and discuss the potential harms of misdiagnoses for patient care and scientific literature.