Introduction
Case fatality rates associated with amebic colitis range from 1.9%-9.1% (Aristizábal et al, 1991)
Hosts
Human
Transmission / Exposure Route
Fecal-oral, indirectly through contact with dirty hands or objects
Case Fatality Ratio
Case fatality rates associated with amebic colitis range from 1.9%-9.1%. Amebic colitis evolves to fulminant necrotizing colitis or rupture in approximately 0.5% of cases; in such cases, the mortality rate jumps to greater than 40%. [2]
The mortality rate due to amebic liver abscess has fallen to 1-3% in the last century following the introduction of effective medical treatment. Nevertheless, amebic liver abscess is complicated by sudden intraperitoneal rupture in 2-7% of patients, leading to a higher mortality rate[3]
Incubation Period
2 days to 4 months [1]
Burden of Disease
Asymptomatic intestinal amebiasis occurs in 90% of infected individuals. However, only 4%-10% of individuals with asymptomatic amebiasis who were monitored for one year eventually developed colitis or extraintestinal disease [4]
The overall prevalence of amebiasis is approximately 4% in the United States[1]
Entamoeba species infect approximately 10% of the world's population[1]
Duration of Infectiousness and disease
Symptomology
Latency
Asymptomatic Rates
Excretion Rates (see Exposure)
Immunity
Microbiology
A non-pathogenic species of Entamoeba that frequently exists as a commensal parasite in the human gastrointestinal tract
Enviromental Survival
Survive weeks to months in the external environment
