Prevalence and Clinical Importance of Entamoeba histolytica in Two High-Risk Groups: Travelers Returning from the Tropics and Male Homosexuals

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Abstract
This study was undertaken to learn the prevalence of amebiasis and to assess the clinical importance of Entamoeba histolytica in two high-risk groups: 2700 travelers returning from the tropics and 320 male homosexuals. Some 16.3% ofthe homosexual men and 4.0% of the travelers had E. histolytica infections. Only five travelers showed a pathogenic zymodeme of E. histolytica, which correlated closely with invasive amebiasis with positive amebic serology and clinical symptoms with diarrhea. The homosexual group had neither a pathogenic isoenzyme pattern nor positive amebic serology. Currently, travelers to the tropics have a risk of 0.3% (1:340) of acquiring invasive amebiasis; 92.5% of all E. histolytica infections in travelers remain asymptomatic and are confirmed by serology and zymodeme status. No homosexual presented with invasive amebiasis.