Читать книгу Parasitology - Alan Gunn - Страница 50

Entamoeba histolytica is essentially a human parasite. There are records of infections in other primates (Deere et al. 2019), but it is uncertain whether zoonotic transmission occurs in the wild. Its pathogenicity in other primates is uncertain, but in humans it causes potentially fatal amoebic dysentery. Dysentery is a generic term for a serious inflammatory disorder that affects the intestines and results in intense diarrhoea, pain, and fever. It can arise from various causes and amoebic, bacterial, and viral dysentery occur in both temperate and tropical regions. Dysentery has long been known as a ‘handmaiden of war’, often inflicting more casualties than bullets and bombs. Dysentery epidemics have accompanied nearly every account of war from antiquity to the present day. Wherever large numbers of people (especially if they are malnourished) live in proximity and in squalid conditions, the situation is ripe for an outbreak of dysentery. In recent years, large‐scale migrations, conflicts, and deteriorating economic conditions have led to enhanced levels of amoebic dysentery in some countries; tourists travelling on ‘exotic adventure holidays’ have also occasionally found themselves victim of amoebic dysentery.