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Protozoan Infections
Amebiasis
A parasitic amoeba, Entamoeba histolytica is the cause of a serious type of dysentery (bloody diarrhea) in humans. Close to 500 million people are infected with it at any given time, and it kills 100,000 people each year (Roberts and Janovy, 2000). The amoebae live in the large intestine, where they invade intestinal tissue and cause ulcers. Before leaving with an infected human's feces, the amoebae transform into cysts. The cyst is a stage that can live for several weeks in water or moist soil. Another person becomes infected by ingesting the cyst in fecally contaminated food or water.
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