Amobiasis

Last Updated: 2019-08-27

Author(s): Anzengruber F., Navarini A.

ICD11: -

A gastrointestinal disease, which may be manifested by cutaneous ulcers, diarrhea and liver abscesses.

  • Endemic in the tropics and subtropics.
  • In Central Europe, however, the prevalence is only about 1%.
  • Increasingly found in homosexual men.

  • Trigger: bad hygienic conditions, homosexual contacts.
  • Pathogens: Entamoeba histolytica (mainly in endemic areas) and E. dispar (especially in homosexuals)

  • Acute diarrhea
  • Ulcers in perineal / genital area
  • Liver abscess

  • Anamnesis regarding travel, sexual orientation and symptoms
  • Clinik
  • Bowel movement
    • Culture
    • ELISA (pathogen detection)
    • PCR
  • Biopsy
  • On suspected liver abscesses: ultrasound

  1. Aguilar-Rojas A, Olivo-Marin JC, Guillen N. The motility of Entamoeba histolytica: finding ways to understand intestinal amoebiasis. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2016 Dec;34:24-30.
  2. Shirley DA, Moonah S. Fulminant Amebic Colitis after Corticosteroid Therapy: A Systematic Review. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016 Jul 28;10(7):e0004879. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004879. eCollection 2016 Jul. 
  3. Campos-Rodríguez R, Gutiérrez-Meza M, Jarillo-Luna RA, Drago-Serrano ME, Abarca-Rojano E, Ventura-Juárez J, Cárdenas-Jaramillo LM, Pacheco-Yepez J. A review of the proposed role of neutrophils in rodent amebic liver abscess models. Parasite. 2016;23:6. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2