Molecular prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica/dispar infection among patients attending four health centres in north-west Ethiopia

Abstract

The prevalence of amoebiasis is often overestimated owing to its epidemiological overlap with the non-pathogenic Entamoeba dispar. To provide evidence for this conjecture, a cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2013 to January 2015. A range of 180–200 µg of semi-solid and formed stools and 200 µL of diarrhoeic stool samples were used for DNA extraction from microscopically E. histolytica/dispar positive samples using the QIAamp® DNA Stool Mini Kit according to manufacturers’ instructions. Nested PCR targeting 18S ribosomal RNA gene was used. In 422 microscopically positive E. histolytica/dispar stools, molecular prevalence revealed that E. histolytica infestation was present in only 1.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.47–2.93) and E. dispar was found in 42.2% (95% CI, 37.49–46.91), while 56.2% (95% CI, 51.47–60.93) had neither E. histolytica nor E. dispar (P < 0.001). We conclude that infestation with E. histolytica is rarer in our study areas than was previously believed. Hence, accurate differentiation of E. histolytica and E. dispar is crucial.

Keywords

molecular prevalence Ethiopia

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