Sero-epidemiology of amoebiasis in Peninsular Malaysia

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Abstract
A serological survey using the Indirect Immunofluorescence technique (IIF) on serum eluted from filter paper, with Entamoeba histolytica antigen, was carried out in two adjacent Malaysian villages, involving a total of 82 Orang Aslis (aborigines) and 690 Malay males and females aged between two months and 75 years. Stools were examined from 50 Orang Aslis and 271 Malays for the presence of E. histolytica: 4·8% of the Orang Aslis and Malays were excreting E. histolytica cysts in their stool, whereas the IIF test detected prevalence rates of 8·3% in the Orang Aslis and 6·1% in the Malays, indicating the value of serological studies in the detection of tissue involvement. The IIF results cannot be equated with active disease, but the data are useful in understanding the epidemiology of amoebiasis. There was an age-dependent increase in the prevalence rate of E. histolytica in both groups studied. The prevalence of invasive (past or present) amoebiasis, as indicated by the antibody prevalence rate, was similar in males and females. Most of the people examined came from the low socio-economic groups and were usually under-nourished.

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