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Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar

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Lifecycles of Pathogenic Protists in Humans

Part of the book series: Microbiology Monographs ((MICROMONO,volume 35))

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Abstract

Of the various species of amebas that are common inhabitants of the human intestinal tract the only parasitic ameba of medical importance is Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of invasive amebiasis in humans, a common and potentially fatal infection that may affect the intestinal mucosa and spread to other organs, mainly the liver. Entamoeba dispar, an ameba morphologically similar to E. histolytica, also colonizes the human gut and is a separate species with no invasive potential. The distinction between the two species of amebas has had profound implications for the epidemiology of amebiasis, since most asymptomatic infections found worldwide are attributed to E. dispar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Pathogenesis, Centro de investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, Mexico City, Mexico

    Martha Espinosa-Cantellano, Bibiana Chávez-Munguía, Daniel Talamás-Lara, Karla Berenice Acosta-Vírgen & Adolfo Martínez-Palomo

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  1. Martha Espinosa-Cantellano
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  2. Bibiana Chávez-Munguía
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  3. Daniel Talamás-Lara
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  4. Karla Berenice Acosta-Vírgen
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  5. Adolfo Martínez-Palomo
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Correspondence to Adolfo Martínez-Palomo .

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  1. Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Wanderley de Souza

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Espinosa-Cantellano, M., Chávez-Munguía, B., Talamás-Lara, D., Acosta-Vírgen, K.B., Martínez-Palomo, A. (2022). Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar. In: de Souza, W. (eds) Lifecycles of Pathogenic Protists in Humans. Microbiology Monographs, vol 35. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80682-8_10

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