amoebiasis
amoebiasis
introduction
infection caused by the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica
usually transmitted by the fecal-oral route
amoebiasis is estimated to cause 70,000 deaths per year world wide
it is often endemic in regions of the world with limited modern sanitation systems, including Mexico, Central America, western South America, South Asia, and western and southern Africa.
clinical pictures
asymptomatic carriers
gastroenteritis
10% develop
gastroenteritis after an incubation period usually 2-4 weeks, which ranges from mild diarrhoea to severe dysentery (severe ulceration of the gastrointestinal mucosal surfaces occurs in less than 16% of symptomatic cases)
-
intestinal granulomas
a granulomatous mass (known as an amoeboma) may form in the wall of the ascending colon or rectum due to long-lasting immunological cellular response
NB. inflammatory caecal area masses in returned travellers may be due to:
ameboma
helminthoma
ascaris - usually pulmonary symptoms in 1st 2 weeks with cough, wheeze, maybe eosinophilia
hookworm may cause eosinophilic enteritis
strongyloidiasis may rarely cause eosinophilic oophoritis
appendiceal abscess
Crohn's disease
malignancy
etc.
hepatic amoebiasis
cutaneous amoebiasis
urogenital
other invasive spread
pulmonary amoebiasis
can occur from hepatic lesion by haemotagenous spread and also by perforation of pleural cavity and lung.
may cause lung abscess, pulmono pleural fistula, empyema lung and broncho pleural fistula.
brain
diagnosis
Rx
infections occur in both the intestine and in the intestinal wall and/or liver.
Thus, two different classes of drugs are needed to treat the infection, one for each location.
amoebiasis.txt · Last modified: 2014/12/19 11:17 (external edit)