Amoebic dysentry or Enteritis
Causative agent
Entamoeba histolytica
Mode of transmission
Contaminated food and water
Types
- Intestinal (invasive amoebiasis)
- Extraintestinal amoebiasis
- Asymptomatic amoebiasis
Symptoms and Signs
Intestinal Amoebiasis
- Malaise
- Weight loss
- Mimic appendicitis.
- Acute colitis
- Ameboma formation
- Stools are heme-positive
- loose stools(10-12) with blood and mucus
- Spasmodic abdominal pain
Extraintestinal amoebiasis
Amoebic liver abscess
- Fever
- Right upper quadrant pain
- Tenderness of fewer than 10 days’ duration.
- Weight loss
- Cough
- Jaundice
Pleuropulmonary
- Cough
- Pleuritic chest pain
- Respiratory distress
Cerebral
- Abrupt onset of nausea
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Mental status change
Investigations
- Ultrasound
- CT
- MRI
- X-ray
- Examination of stools under a microscope
- Sigmoidoscopy
- Serology – ELISA
- CBC
Treatment
- Medicines
- Amoebic liver abscess aspiration
Complications
- Amoebic cutis
- Amoebic peritonitis
- Amoebic vulvovaginitis
- Broncho pleural fistula
- Empyema lung
- Lung abscess
- Malnutrition
- Meningoencephalitis
- Pericolic and pericaecal abscess
- Pulmono pleural fistula
- Rectovaginal fistula
- Rectovesicle fistula
- Severe ulceration of the gastrointestinal mucosa
- Stunting of growth.
- Sub-diaphragmatic abscess
How to prevent amoebic dysentery
- Practice general hygiene(hand wash, separate towels, sanitary hygiene)
- Avoid raw vegetables when in endemic areas, as they may have been fertilized using human faeces.
- Boil water or treat with iodine tablets.
- Sedimentation and filtration of water supplies are necessary to reduce the incidence of infection
- Avoid eating Street Foods (public places where others are sharing sauces in one container).