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VOLUME 10 , ISSUE 1--4 ( January-December, 2024 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Entamoeba histolytica: Current Status in All the Suspected Patients Having Gastrointestinal Infections in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Jaipur

Shaveta Kataria, Ashina Singla, Priyanka Thandi, Mohit Kumar, Afreen Ali

Keywords : Amoebic serology, Entamoeba histolytica, Gastrointestinal infections, Immunoglobulin G antibody, Stool microscopy

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10045-00248

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-05-2024

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).


Abstract

Background: Intestinal parasites are widely prevalent in developing countries due to poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, health status, contaminated drinking water resources, etc. The prevalence of amoebiasis varies in the different parts of the world. The diagnosis and conclusion of Entamoeba histolytica infection is difficult. In most developing countries, the diagnosis of Entamoeba infection is made by microscopic examination, which is usually subjective, has low sensitivity and specificity, and is also associated with high false positivity rates. Materials and methods: The present descriptive observational study was planned to study all the suspected patients having gastrointestinal infections attending a tertiary care teaching hospital over a period of 6 months. Fresh stool samples were collected, and macroscopic and microscopic examination was done using a wet mount and iodine mount. The serum samples of routine stool microscopy-positive patients were processed for amoebic serology and were then tested for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels using an enzyme immunoassay. Results are analyzed statistically. Result: Eight stool samples (1.55%) were found to be positive for E. histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii. Out of these positive patients, five were positive for amoebic serology. The majority of the patients belonged to the 26–36 years age-group, with male-to-female ratio of 1.67/1. A predominance of positive cases was observed in September and October. Conclusion: The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections is low in the present study. This depicts the improvement in the living conditions, hygiene practices, epidemiological surveillance, and the systematic management of populations.


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