🦠 Amoebiasis
Amoebiasis (also spelled Amebiasis) is an intestinal infection caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica. It can range from mild diarrhea to severe dysentery and, in rare cases, spread to other organs such as the liver.
🧬 Cause
- Caused by Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite
- Spread through ingestion of contaminated food or water
- Common in areas with poor sanitation
🌍 Who’s at Risk?
- People in or traveling to tropical or subtropical regions
- Areas with inadequate sanitation
- Children, immunocompromised people, and institutionalized individuals
🦠 Transmission
- Fecal–oral route
- Consuming food or water contaminated with cysts (infective form)
- Person-to-person contact (e.g. poor hand hygiene)
- Flies or other insects can mechanically transmit cysts to food
⚠️ Symptoms
🔹 Intestinal Amoebiasis (Amebic Colitis):
- Mild to severe diarrhea
- Abdominal cramps
- Bloody or mucus-filled stools
- Fever (sometimes)
- Flatulence
- Weight loss
- Tenesmus (feeling of incomplete bowel evacuation)
🔹 Extraintestinal Amoebiasis:
- Most common: Liver abscess
- Right upper abdominal pain
- Fever
- Tender, enlarged liver
- Occasionally, cough or chest pain (if abscess presses on diaphragm)
- Rare: Involvement of lungs, brain, or skin
🧪 Diagnosis
- Stool examination: Detects cysts or trophozoites (multiple samples may be needed)
- Antigen detection tests: More accurate
- PCR testing: Confirms species
- Serology: Useful for liver abscess cases
- Ultrasound or CT scan: For liver abscess detection
💊 Treatment
- Metronidazole or Tinidazole:
- Kills invasive trophozoites (used for intestinal and extraintestinal amoebiasis)
- Paromomycin or Iodoquinol:
- Clears non-invasive cysts from the intestines
- Used after Metronidazole to prevent recurrence
🔸 Liver abscess may need drainage if large or unresponsive to medication.
🛡️ Prevention
- Drink only purified or boiled water
- Avoid raw vegetables or unpeeled fruits in high-risk areas
- Practice good hand hygiene
- Ensure proper sanitation and waste disposal
- Wash hands after toilet use and before handling food
✅ Key Points
- Amoebiasis can range from mild diarrhea to life-threatening organ damage
- Easily preventable with good hygiene and clean water
- Curable with effective treatment, especially when caught early