Prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica in humans

• Published in: Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 344 - 348
• Main Authors: Tasawar, Zahida, Kausar, Shabana, Lashari, M H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pakistan Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 01.07.2010
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Development and progression; Disease susceptibility; Diseases; Elementary school students; Entamoeba histolytica - isolation & purification; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Feces - parasitology; Female; Gastrointestinal diseases; Health aspects; Humans; Infant; Infection; Infection in children; Male; Middle Aged; Parasitic diseases; Physiological aspects; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Sex Characteristics; Surveys
• ISSN: 1011-601X

The present survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of human amebiasis. During the study, 1360 fecal samples were examined from February 2007 to December 2007 at Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Out of 1360 hosts examined, 295 were infected with E. histolytica. The overall prevalence of E. histolytica was (21.69%). Relationship between sex and E. histolytica in humans showed that the infection of E. histolytica was more prevalent in male hosts (22.36%) as compared to female hosts (20.9%). However the difference was statistically non-significant (P>0.05). Results regarding the relationship between age and E. histolytica revealed that the parasite had highest prevalence (30.82%) in age group of 1 day to 15 years and lowest prevalence (17.34%) in age group of 31 to 45 years. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05).