Entamoeba Histolytica
All about it
Pathogen Information
It is a single-celled protozoan capable of infecting a wide variety of hosts. is a parasite that can make people sick. It’s not very common in the U.S., where it usually affects people who traveled here from a country with poor sanitation that aren’t very clean. It is associated with the disease amebiasis.
Type, TIme of Onset and Duration of the Disease
Exposure
Entamoeba is passed in the bowel movements of infected people and can spread to others. For example, food can become contaminated if it’s handled by an infected person who didn’t wash his or her hands well after a bowel movement, or if contaminated water is used for growing fruits or vegetables or to rinse them afterwards.
It usually infects people you have been to or around someone who has been to a country with poor sanitation. You can get it anywhere but its mostly in third-world countries that aren't really clean such as Africa, Mexico, parts of South America, and India have significant health problems associated with this disease.
Avoidance
Treatments
Treatment depends on the severity of infection. Usually, metronidazole is given by mouth for 10 days. This is followed by paromomycin or diloxanide.
If you are vomiting, you may need to medications through a vein (intravenously) until you can take them by mouth. Medicines to stop diarrhea are usually not prescribed because they can make the condition worse.
After treatment, the stool should be rechecked to make sure that the infection has been cleared. Just go to the doctor and they will tell you what you need.
Additional Information
It is usually found in areas that are warm and unsanatized. The active (trophozoite) stage exists only in the host and in fresh loose feces; cysts survive outside the host in water, in soils, and on foods, especially under moist conditions on the latter. The cysts are readily killed by heat and by freezing temperatures, and survive for only a few months outside of the host. It is estimated, however, that amebiasis causes up to 110,000 deaths a year. The causal agent, Entamoeba histolytica, was discovered in Russia in 1873 by Friedrich Losch.