Amoebas are tiny

 

 

 

 

 

parasite
Parasites are germs that can only survive by living on or in another living thing.

 

 

 

 

 

parasites. This means they can live inside your body. If you eat or drink food or water containing amoebas, they can get inside your body and live in your bowels. Sometimes they can live inside your body without making you sick.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Stanley SL.
Amoebiasis.
Lancet. 2003; 361: 1025-1034.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
World Health Organization.
Amoebiasis.
Weekly Epidemiological Record. 1997; 72: 97-99.

 

 

 

 

 

² But they can also cause bad

 

 

 

 

 

diarrhea
Diarrhea is when you have loose, watery stools and you need to go to the bathroom far more often than usual. Doctors say you have diarrhea if you need to go to the bathroom more than three times a day.

 

 

 

 

 

diarrhea.

If you're infected, your stools will contain amoebas. Amoebas can then get into food and water, and so the infection can pass on to other people. For example, if you go to the bathroom and don't wash your hands, amoebas from your stool could get into any food you prepare. Or sewage that isn't treated properly could contaminate drinking water.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Davis AN, Haque R, Petri WA.
Update on protozoan parasites of the intestine.
Current Opinion in Gastroenterology. 2002; 18: 10-14.

 

 

 

 

 

³

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Lucas R, Upcroft JA.
Clinical significance of the redefinition of the agent of amoebiasis.
Revista Latinoamericana de Microbiologia. 2001; 43: 183-187.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴ Eating food that's been washed in water contaminated with amoebas can also make you sick.

Even if the infection in your bowels doesn't make you sick, you can still pass it on to other people. So it's important to get treatment.

You usually get amebic dysentery (sometimes spelled amoebic dysentery) after eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water . So it's more common to get it in developing countries, where clean water isn't always available.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Davis AN, Haque R, Petri WA.
Update on protozoan parasites of the intestine.
Current Opinion in Gastroenterology. 2002; 18: 10-14.

 

 

 

 

 

³

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Lucas R, Upcroft JA.
Clinical significance of the redefinition of the agent of amoebiasis.
Revista Latinoamericana de Microbiologia. 2001; 43: 183-187.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

Amebic dysentery can also be passed from person to person. For example, if someone doesn't wash their hands after going to the bathroom, then shakes your hand or gives you money, amoebas could pass into your mouth when you eat.

People from the United States are most likely to get amebic dysentery when they're traveling. You're also more likely to get it if you:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Stanley SL.
Amoebiasis.
Lancet. 2003; 361: 1025-1034.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Davis AN, Haque R, Petri WA.
Update on protozoan parasites of the intestine.
Current Opinion in Gastroenterology. 2002; 18: 10-14.

 

 

 

 

 

³

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Petri WA, Singh U.
Diagnosis and management of amebiasis.
Clinical Infectious Diseases. 1999; 29: 1117-1125.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵

If you're traveling in a developing country, there are things you can do to make it less likely that you'll catch amebic dysentery. To read more, see Preventing amebic dysentery.

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