Copro prevalence and estimated risk of Entamoeba histolytica in Diarrheic patients at Beni-Suef, Egypt

Update on laboratory diagnosis of amoebiasis

Amoebiasis, an enteric protozoan disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica, is a public health problem in many developing countries, causing up to 100,000 fatal cases annually. Detection of the pathogenic E. histolytica and its differentiation from the non-pathogenic Entamoeba spp. play a crucial role in the clinical management of patients. Laboratory diagnosis of intestinal amoebiasis in developing countries still relies on labour-intensive and insensitive methods involving staining of stool sample and microscopy. Newer and more sensitive methods include a variety of antigen detection ELISAs and rapid tests; however, their diagnostic sensitivity and specificity seem to vary between studies, and some tests do not distinguish among the Entamoeba species. Molecular detection techniques are highly sensitive and specific and isothermal amplification approaches may be developed into field-applicable tests; however, cost is still a barrier for their use as a routine laboratory test method in most endemic areas. Laboratory diagnosis of extraintestinal amoebiasis faces challenges of lack of definitive detection of current infection and commercially available point-of-care tests. For both types of amoebiasis, there is still a need for highly sensitive and specific tests that are rapid and cost-effective for use in developing countries where the disease is prevalent. In recent years, new molecules of diagnostic value are being discovered and new tests developed. The advances in 'omics' technologies are enabling discoveries of new biomarkers that may help distinguish between different infection stages.

Molecular diagnosis of Entamoeba spp. versus microscopy in the Great Cairo

Amoebiasis is a human disease produced by Entamoeba histolytica which causes widespread mortality and morbidity worldwide through diarrheal disease and abscess establishment in parenchymal tissues such as liver, lung, and brain. The true prevalence of infection is unknown for most areas of the world due to the difficulty to characterise Entamoeba histolytica versus other non-pathogenic amoebas with identical morphology, as Entamoeba dispar, and Entamoeba moshkovskii. To overcome microscopy misidentification issues, we tested a nested multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a real-time PCR on 194 stool samples collected from incoming dysentery patients in Cairo hospitals diagnosed with E. histolytica by microscopy. Nested PCR showed only 20 (10.3%) samples positive to E. histolytica and 17 (8.7%) to E. dispar. The real-time PCR detected only 19 and 11 samples positive to E. histolytica and E. dispar respectively, showing less sensitivity than the nested PCR. The data show that prevalence of E. histolytica in Cairo is lower when specific diagnosis methods are used instead of traditional microscopy, allowing to differentiate between morphologically identical human amoebas species.

Azole-based compounds as antiamoebic agents: a perspective using theoretical calculations

Diseases caused by protozoal organisms are responsible for significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. Amoebiasis caused byEntamoeba histolyticais an example of such diseases.