A Cross-Sectional Observational Study to Estimate Prevalence of Entamoeba Histolytica/Dispar Infection in Patients with Gastro-intestinal Symptoms at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Gwalior City

Abstract

Introduction: Entamoeba histolytica/dispar is an anaerobic parasite causing amoebiasis which is more prevalent in the developing countries and is the third leading cause of death due to protozoan infection according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The present study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of E histolytica/dispar among patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and determine the factors associated with it. Methodology: This study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology of a Medical College Hospital in Gwalior city over a period of one year on 200 enrolled patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. Stool and blood samples were collected for routine microscopy, E histolytica/dispar IgG ELISA, and culture in TYSGM9 media, respectively. Statistical analysis included calculation of frequency, percentage, and Chi-square compared at a 5% level of significance. Results: In the present study, the prevalence of E histolytica/ dispar for IgG ELISA was 17.5% while prevalence of E histo lytica/dispar by culture was 9.5%. The prevalence of E histolytica/dispar by IgG ELISA was higher among the male patients (17.88%) as compared to female patients (16.88%). The prevalence of culture was also higher among the male patients (12.19 %) as compared to female patients ( 5.19 %). Conclusion: The highest positivity was observed in the patients of age group of 20-30 years and slightly higher prevalence was reported in the patients who belonged to a rural background.

Keywords

• Culture, Cysts, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, IgG ELISA, TYSGM-9