Abstract
This study aims to determine the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar andEntamoeba moshkovskii by three methods of diagnosis (microscopic examination, cultivation and PCR) thatwere compared to obtain an accurate diagnosis of Entamoeba spp. during amoebiasis. Total (n=150) stoolsamples related to patients were (n = 100) and healthy controls (n= 50). Clinically diagnosed stool samples(n=100) were collected from patients attending the consultant clinics of different hospitals in Basrah duringthe period from January 2018 to January 2019. The results showed that 60% of collected samples werepositive in a direct microscopic examination. All samples were cultivated on different media; the Brain heartinfusion agar showed high efficiency and was the most suitable in cultivating the parasite. Data and results ofmolecular study were indicated by DNA extraction from stool samples and used in PCR technique withspecific primers. This study identifies different infection percentage for the three species. The highestinfection in Basrah patients was Entamoeba moshkovskii 15% followed by Entamoeba dispar 10% andEntamoeba histolytica, which was 5%.
Highlights
In many countries, amoebiasis has been considered one of the major public health problems
Prevalence of Entamoeba spp. infection according to microscopic examination
The results showed that percent infection of Entamoeba spp. was different according to age groups
Summary
Amoebiasis has been considered one of the major public health problems. It is caused by the genus Entamoeba, which includes several species, such as E. histolytica, E. dispar and E. moshkovskii. The disregarding of parasitic infections in such countries increases the number of these infections [1]. There is an idea of some researchers that the pathogenesis of the parasite differs according to the species and strains, while others believe that the severity of the parasite pathogenicity and the condition of host may increase the clinical symptoms. The prevalence of E. histolytica is normally over estimated, this is because of the overlap of the epidemiology of E. dispar and E. moshkovskii which are similar in morphology to E. histolytica [2]
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