Review of zoonotic amebiasis: Epidemiology, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control

• Published in: Research in veterinary science 2021-05, Vol.136, p.174-181
• Main Authors: Li, Junqiang, Cui, Zhaohui, Li, Xiaoying, Zhang, Longxian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abscesses; Amebiasis; Beef cattle; Clinical signs; Clinical trials; Colitis; Control; Cysts; Developing countries; Diagnosis; Diarrhea; Disease; Disease control; Dysentery; E coli; Entamoeba histolytica; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Food contamination; Food contamination & poisoning; Health services; Hygiene; Infections; Intestine; Large intestine; LDCs; Medical treatment; Metronidazole; Mucosa; Organs; Parasites; Pathogenesis; Pathogens; Prevention; Protozoa; Signs and symptoms; Treatment; Tropical diseases; Vaccine development; Vaccines; Veterinary medicine; Water pollution; Water purification; Water treatment; Waterborne diseases; Zoonoses
• ISSN: 0034-5288; 1532-2661
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2021.02.021

Amebiasis is a disease caused by the protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica, which mainly shows symptoms of acute diarrhea, dysentery, amebic colitis, and amebic liver abscesses. As the fourth leading parasitic cause of human mortality, E. histolytica mainly infect children in developing countries, transmitted by food and water contamination. In the majority of infected individuals, Entamoeba sp. asymptomatically colonizes the large intestine and self-limiting, while in others, the parasite breaches the mucosal epithelial barrier to cause amebic colitis and can disseminate to soft organs to cause abscesses. Metronidazole (MTZ) is the recommended and most widely used drug for treating the invasive amebiasis. No amebiasis vaccine has been approved for human clinical trials to date, but many recent vaccine development studies hold promise. For the prevention and control of amebiasis, improvement of water purification systems and hygiene practices could decrease disease incidence. In this review, we focus on the epidemiology, transmission, clinical signs, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control of the zoonotic amebiasis. •Amebiasis symptoms are mainly acute diarrhea, amebic colitis, amebic liver abscesses.•Entamoeba histolytica is the fourth leading parasitic cause of human mortality.•Metronidazole is the most widely used drug for treating the invasive amebiasis.•No amebiasis vaccine has been approved for human clinical trials, but hold promise.•Improvement of water sanitary and hygiene practices could decrease amebiasis incidence.