Amoebiasis

An infection caused by the amoeba, a tiny single-celled parasite that lives in the human large intestine. Amoebiasis is spread through drinking water or eating food contaminated by human excreta containing cysts of the amoeba. Some people carry the amoeba in their intestines and excrete cysts but have no symptoms. However, some strains invade and ulcerate the intestinal wall, causing diarrhoea and abdominal pain, which may develop into full-blown dysentery. The amoebae may spread via the bloodstream to the liver, or, rarely, the brain or lung, where they cause abscesses. Symptoms of an amoebic liver abscess are chills, fever, weight loss, and painful enlargement of the liver. Treatment of all forms of amoebiasis is with drugs such as metronidazole or diloxanide, which kill the parasite within a few weeks, leading to full recovery.