Prevalence and pathogenicity of Entamoeba histolytica in three different regions of Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil

Aca, Ivanize da Silva; Kobayashi, Seiki; Carvalho Jr., Luiz Bezerra; Tateno, Seiki; Takeuchi, Tsutomu

doi:10.1590/S0036-46651994000600008

Abstracts

Parasitological examinations were carried out on 663 individuals of three different cities of Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil: Recife, Palmares and Bodocó. The population from a drought area of Pernambuco State, Bodocó, was investigated for amoebiasis and compared with Recife, metropolitan city (about 1.3 million of inhabitants) and another inland community, Palmares, located inside of the sugar-cane plantation region of the State. No evidence of invasive strains of E. histolytica were found in these inhabitants, provided that the isolated zymodemes I, III, IV, VIII, IX, X, XVII and XVIII are recognized as nonpathogenic strains of E. histolytica. Furthermore, the prevalence of intestinal helminths and other protozoan infections showed that these individuals are infected by other agents responsible for diarrhoeal diseases.

Entamoeba histolytica; Protozoan pathogenicity; Amebiasis; Northeast Brazil

Exames parasitológicos foram realizados em amostras fecais de 663 indivíduos residindo em três cidades do estado de Pernambuco, Nordeste brasileiro: Recife, Palmares e Bodocó. A população de Bodocó, situada na região do semi-árido de Pernambuco, foi investigada para amebíase e comparada com a do Recife, cidade metropolitana com cerca de 1,3 milhões de habitantes, e com outra da zona de plantação de cana-de-açucar do estado, Palmares. Não foi observada evidência da presença de cêpas invasivas de E. histolytica nesses habitantes desde que aquelas isoladas das amostras fecais, com zimodomas dos tipos I, III, IV, VIII, IX, X, XVII e XVIII, são reconhecidas como não patogênicas. Ademais, a prevalência de helmintos intestinais e de infecções por protozoários mostrou que esses indivíduos são infectados por outros agentes responsáveis por quadros diarréicos.

EPIDEMIOLOGY

Prevalence and pathogenicity of Entamoeba histolytica in three different regions of Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil

Prevalência e patogenicidade da Entamoeba histolytica em três regiões diferentes do estado de Pernambuco, Nordeste Brasileiro

Ivanize da Silva Aca^I,II; Seiki Kobayashi^III; Luiz Bezerra Carvalho Jr.^I,IV; Seiki Taten^III; Tsutomu Takeuchi^III

^ILaboratório de Imunopatologia Keizo Asami (LIKA), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brasil

^IIDepartamento de Medicina Tropical, UFPE, Recife, Brasil

^IIIDepartment of Parasitolgy and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

^IVDepartamento de Bioquímica, UFPE, Recife, Brasil

^{Correspondence to} Correspondence to: Ivanize Aca LIKA, Cidade Universitária 50 670-420 Recife, PE, Brasil

SUMMARY

Parasitological examinations were carried out on 663 individuals of three different cities of Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil: Recife, Palmares and Bodocó. The population from a drought area of Pernambuco State, Bodocó, was investigated for amoebiasis and compared with Recife, metropolitan city (about 1.3 million of inhabitants) and another inland community, Palmares, located inside of the sugar-cane plantation region of the State. No evidence of invasive strains of E. histolytica were found in these inhabitants, provided that the isolated zymodemes I, III, IV, VIII, IX, X, XVII and XVIII are recognized as nonpathogenic strains of E. histolytica. Furthermore, the prevalence of intestinal helminths and other protozoan infections showed that these individuals are infected by other agents responsible for diarrhoeal diseases.

Keywords:Entamoeba histolytica; Protozoan pathogenicity; Amebiasis; Northeast Brazil.

RESUMO

Exames parasitológicos foram realizados em amostras fecais de 663 indivíduos residindo em três cidades do estado de Pernambuco, Nordeste brasileiro: Recife, Palmares e Bodocó. A população de Bodocó, situada na região do semi-árido de Pernambuco, foi investigada para amebíase e comparada com a do Recife, cidade metropolitana com cerca de 1,3 milhões de habitantes, e com outra da zona de plantação de cana-de-açucar do estado, Palmares. Não foi observada evidência da presença de cêpas invasivas de E. histolytica nesses habitantes desde que aquelas isoladas das amostras fecais, com zimodomas dos tipos I, III, IV, VIII, IX, X, XVII e XVIII, são reconhecidas como não patogênicas. Ademais, a prevalência de helmintos intestinais e de infecções por protozoários mostrou que esses indivíduos são infectados por outros agentes responsáveis por quadros diarréicos.

Full text available only in PDF format.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are indebted to Mr. Lairton Rodrigues, Bodocó Mayor, and M. Francisco de Paula de Melo Medeiros for their support and technical assistance, respectively. Prof. Ieda Linhares comments are also thanked.

Recebido para publicação em 07/02/1994

Aceito para publicação em 18/08/1994

This work was financially supported by JICA and FINEP.

1. CUNHA, A.S.; RASO, P.; SILVA, E.F. & MELLO, S.M. - Patogenia da Amebiase. II. Endoscopia e histopatologia da mucosa retossigmoidiana na amebiase intestinal. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 19: 378-386, 1977.
2. DIAMOND, L.S.; HARLOW, D.R.J. & CUNNICK, C.C. - A new medium for the axenic cultivation of Entamoeba histolytica and other Entamoeba. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 72: 431-432, 1978.
3. GONÇALVES, J.F.; TANABE, M.; MEDEIROS, F.P.M. et al - Parasitological and serological studies on amoebiasis and other intestinal parasitic infections in the rural sector around Recife, Northeast Brazil. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 32: 428-435, 1990.
4. GIBODA, M.; DITRICH, O. & VOKURKOVA-VRCHOTOVA, N. - Amoebiasis in foreign students. Folia Parasit., 37: 97-104, 1990.
5. GUERRANT, R.L.- The global problem of amebiasis: current status, research needs and opportunities for progress. Amebiasis: introduction, current status, and research questions. Rev. infect. Dis., 8: 218-227, 1986.
6. HARADA, Y. & MORI, O. - A simple culture method of Ancylostoma doudenale. Med. Biol., 20: 65-67, 1951.
7. LENNETTE, E.H.; SPAULDING, E.H. & TRUANT, J.P.- Manual of clinic microbiology. 2 ed. Washington, American Society for Microbiology, 1974.
8. MADDISON, S.E. - Characterization of Entamoeba histolytica antigen-antibody reaction by gel diffusion. Exp. Parasit., 16: 224-235, 1965.
9. MAGALHĂES, M.; TAKEDA, Y.; OKUZAWA, E. et al. - Microbiologia da diarréia aguda endęmica em crianças do Recife. Rev. Inst. Med. infant. Pernambuco, 4: 23-28, 1990.
10. MATSUDA, H.; TANAKA, H.; BLAS, B.L. et al. - Evaluation of ELISA with ABTS, 2-2"-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonic acid), as the substrate of peroxidase and its application to the diagnosis of schistosomiasis. Jap. J. exp. Med., 54: 131-138, 1984.
11. NAGAKURA, K.; TACHIBANA, H.; KANEDA, Y. et al. - Amebiasis in Institutions for the mentally retarded in Kanagawa Prefecture - Japan. Jap. J. med. Sci. Biol., 43: 123-131, 1990.
12. NOZAKI, T.; ACA, I.S.; OKUZAWA, E. et al. - Zymodemes of Entamoeba histolytica, isolated in the Amazon and the Northeast Regions of Brazil. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 84: 387-388, 1990.
13. OKAZAKI, M.; OKAZAKI, M.; MIRANDA, P. et al. - Parasitological and serological studies on amoebiasis and other intestinal parasitic infections in Recife and its suburban area, Northeast Brazil. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 30: 313-321, 1988.
14. RITCHIE, L.S. - An ether sedimentation technique for routine stool examinations. Bull. U. S. Army med. Dep., 8: 326-328, 1948.
15. ROBINSON, G.L. - The laboratory diagnosis of human parasitic amoebae. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 62: 285-294, 1968.
16. SARGEAUNT, P.G. & WILLIAMS, J.E. - A study of intestinal protozoa including non-pathogenic Entamoeba o73 histolytica from patients in a group of mental Hospitals. Amer. J. publ. Hlth., 72: 178-180, 1982.
17. SARGEAUNT, P.G.; OATES, J.K.; MACLENNAN, I.; ORIEL, J.D. & GOLDMEIER, D. - Entamoeba histolytica in male homosexuals. Brit. J. vener. Dis., 59: 193-195, 1983.
18. SARGEAUNT, P.G.; BAVEJA, U.R.; NANDA, R. & ANAND, B.S. - Influence of geographical factors in the distribution of pathogenic zymodemes of Entamoeba histolytica; identification of zymodeme XIV in India. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 78: 96-101, 1984.
19. TAKEUCHI, T. & KOBAYASHI, S. - Serological tests for amoebiasis with special reference to gel diffusion precipiting test. Igakuno Ayumi, 115: 53-58, 1980.
20. TAKEUCHI, T.; OKUZAWA, E.; NOZAKI, T.; TANABE, M. & KANEKO, N. - Antibody production of cyst carriers of Entamoeba histolytica. Jap. J. Protozool., 21: 47-48, 1988.
21. TAKEUCHI, T.; MIYAHIRA, Y.; KOBAYASHI, S. et al. - High seropositivity for Entamoeba histolytica infection in Japanese homosexual men: further evidence fot the occurrence of pathogenic strains. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 84: 250-251, 1990.
22. WALSH, J.A. - Problems in recognition and diagnosis of amebiasis estimation of the global magnitude of morbidity and mortality. Rev. infect. Dis., 8: 228-238, 1986.

Correspondence to:

Ivanize Aca

LIKA, Cidade Universitária

50 670-420 Recife, PE, Brasil

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
05 July 2006
Date of issue
Dec 1994

History

Accepted
18 Aug 1994
Received
07 Feb 1994

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] 1. CUNHA, A.S.; RASO, P.; SILVA, E.F. & MELLO, S.M. - Patogenia da Amebiase. II. Endoscopia e histopatologia da mucosa retossigmoidiana na amebiase intestinal. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 19: 378-386, 1977.

[2] 2. DIAMOND, L.S.; HARLOW, D.R.J. & CUNNICK, C.C. - A new medium for the axenic cultivation of Entamoeba histolytica and other Entamoeba. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 72: 431-432, 1978.

[3] 3. GONÇALVES, J.F.; TANABE, M.; MEDEIROS, F.P.M. et al - Parasitological and serological studies on amoebiasis and other intestinal parasitic infections in the rural sector around Recife, Northeast Brazil. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 32: 428-435, 1990.

[4] 4. GIBODA, M.; DITRICH, O. & VOKURKOVA-VRCHOTOVA, N. - Amoebiasis in foreign students. Folia Parasit., 37: 97-104, 1990.

[5] 5. GUERRANT, R.L.- The global problem of amebiasis: current status, research needs and opportunities for progress. Amebiasis: introduction, current status, and research questions. Rev. infect. Dis., 8: 218-227, 1986.

[6] 6. HARADA, Y. & MORI, O. - A simple culture method of Ancylostoma doudenale. Med. Biol., 20: 65-67, 1951.

[7] 7. LENNETTE, E.H.; SPAULDING, E.H. & TRUANT, J.P.- Manual of clinic microbiology. 2 ed. Washington, American Society for Microbiology, 1974.

[8] 8. MADDISON, S.E. - Characterization of Entamoeba histolytica antigen-antibody reaction by gel diffusion. Exp. Parasit., 16: 224-235, 1965.

[9] 9. MAGALHĂES, M.; TAKEDA, Y.; OKUZAWA, E. et al. - Microbiologia da diarréia aguda endęmica em crianças do Recife. Rev. Inst. Med. infant. Pernambuco, 4: 23-28, 1990.

[10] 10. MATSUDA, H.; TANAKA, H.; BLAS, B.L. et al. - Evaluation of ELISA with ABTS, 2-2"-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonic acid), as the substrate of peroxidase and its application to the diagnosis of schistosomiasis. Jap. J. exp. Med., 54: 131-138, 1984.

[11] 11. NAGAKURA, K.; TACHIBANA, H.; KANEDA, Y. et al. - Amebiasis in Institutions for the mentally retarded in Kanagawa Prefecture - Japan. Jap. J. med. Sci. Biol., 43: 123-131, 1990.

[12] 12. NOZAKI, T.; ACA, I.S.; OKUZAWA, E. et al. - Zymodemes of Entamoeba histolytica, isolated in the Amazon and the Northeast Regions of Brazil. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 84: 387-388, 1990.

[13] 13. OKAZAKI, M.; OKAZAKI, M.; MIRANDA, P. et al. - Parasitological and serological studies on amoebiasis and other intestinal parasitic infections in Recife and its suburban area, Northeast Brazil. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 30: 313-321, 1988.

[14] 14. RITCHIE, L.S. - An ether sedimentation technique for routine stool examinations. Bull. U. S. Army med. Dep., 8: 326-328, 1948.

[15] 15. ROBINSON, G.L. - The laboratory diagnosis of human parasitic amoebae. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 62: 285-294, 1968.

[16] 16. SARGEAUNT, P.G. & WILLIAMS, J.E. - A study of intestinal protozoa including non-pathogenic Entamoeba o73 histolytica from patients in a group of mental Hospitals. Amer. J. publ. Hlth., 72: 178-180, 1982.

[17] 17. SARGEAUNT, P.G.; OATES, J.K.; MACLENNAN, I.; ORIEL, J.D. & GOLDMEIER, D. - Entamoeba histolytica in male homosexuals. Brit. J. vener. Dis., 59: 193-195, 1983.

[18] 18. SARGEAUNT, P.G.; BAVEJA, U.R.; NANDA, R. & ANAND, B.S. - Influence of geographical factors in the distribution of pathogenic zymodemes of Entamoeba histolytica; identification of zymodeme XIV in India. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 78: 96-101, 1984.

[19] 19. TAKEUCHI, T. & KOBAYASHI, S. - Serological tests for amoebiasis with special reference to gel diffusion precipiting test. Igakuno Ayumi, 115: 53-58, 1980.

[20] 20. TAKEUCHI, T.; OKUZAWA, E.; NOZAKI, T.; TANABE, M. & KANEKO, N. - Antibody production of cyst carriers of Entamoeba histolytica. Jap. J. Protozool., 21: 47-48, 1988.

[21] 21. TAKEUCHI, T.; MIYAHIRA, Y.; KOBAYASHI, S. et al. - High seropositivity for Entamoeba histolytica infection in Japanese homosexual men: further evidence fot the occurrence of pathogenic strains. Trans. roy. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg., 84: 250-251, 1990.

[22] 22. WALSH, J.A. - Problems in recognition and diagnosis of amebiasis estimation of the global magnitude of morbidity and mortality. Rev. infect. Dis., 8: 228-238, 1986.

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