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

organisms by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 8n 1903, Schaudinn documented the taxonomic description with the name E. histolytica and differentiated it from Entamoeba coli. 9E. histolytica is the causative agent of amoebic dysentery and amoebic liver abscess, whereas Entamoeba dispar and Entamoeba moshkovskii are nonpathogenic species that are morphologically similar to E. histolytica. 10While in 1925, E. histolytica IntroductIonHippocrates was the first one to recognize the deadly disease named "amoebiasis" in 460-377 BC. 1 Later, in 1875, Feder Losch was the first one to identify Entamoeba histolytica in human feces, which was associated with inflammation, and named this isolate Amoeba coli. 2 In the tropical and subtropical areas of developing countries, intestinal parasites are found predominantly, and the reason might be poor sanitation and lack of personal hygiene. 3The various other factors accounting for their prevalence are impoverishment, lack of education, malnutrition, health status, contaminated drinking water, etc.E. histolytica is a nonflagellated, facultative protozoan, causing infection in around 480 million people, with prevalence rates varying between 5 and 81%. 3,4The prevalence of amoebiasis varies in the different parts of the world, infecting >10% in developed countries while >50% of the population is affected in developing countries. 5The World Health Organization (WHO) report states that E. histolytica is the most common parasitic cause of morbidity and mortality, causing about 50 million infections worldwide, followed by giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis. 6Among the major health problems, the highest prevalence of intestinal protozoan parasitic infections, affecting more than three billion people across the globe, is amoebiasis. 7E. histolytica has minimal infectious dose, less chlorine resistance, and spread through the fecal-oral route, so it is classified under class B priority biodefense 1,2,