Subtopic Deep Dive
Epidemiology of Entamoeba histolytica Infections
Research Guide
What is Epidemiology of Entamoeba histolytica Infections?
Epidemiology of Entamoeba histolytica infections studies global prevalence, risk factors, transmission dynamics, and molecular genotyping of the pathogen causing amoebiasis.
Research maps E. histolytica distribution in developing countries, focusing on waterborne and foodborne outbreaks (Karanis et al., 2006, 846 citations). Studies differentiate pathogenic E. histolytica from morphologically similar E. dispar and E. moshkovskii (Ali et al., 2003, 212 citations). Key reassessment highlights underreported invasive cases (Ximénez et al., 2009, 219 citations). Over 200 papers address genotyping and public health impacts.
Why It Matters
Epidemiological data from Karanis et al. (2006) document 325 waterborne protozoan outbreaks, informing sanitation policies in endemic regions. Ximénez et al. (2009) reassess amebiasis burden, guiding targeted interventions against invasive disease in children. Ali et al. (2003) reveal E. moshkovskii prevalence in Bangladesh, improving diagnostic accuracy to reduce misattributed cases. Kantor et al. (2018, 216 citations) link rising travel-related infections to public health strategies in non-endemic areas.
Key Research Challenges
Morphological Differentiation
E. histolytica cysts are indistinguishable from non-pathogenic E. dispar and E. moshkovskii under microscopy (Ali et al., 2003, 212 citations). This leads to overestimation of pathogenic infections. Molecular genotyping via PCR is required for accurate prevalence mapping.
Underreported Invasive Cases
Invasive amoebiasis burden is underestimated in developing countries due to poor diagnostics (Ximénez et al., 2009, 219 citations). Asymptomatic carriers complicate transmission tracking. Multiplex qPCR improves detection in polyparasitism (Llewellyn et al., 2016, 211 citations).
Waterborne Outbreak Tracking
Protozoan outbreaks like those from E. histolytica are predominantly water-associated but underreported outside North America (Karanis et al., 2006, 846 citations). Genotyping strains across regions is needed for source attribution. Limited surveillance hinders global mapping.
Essential Papers
Waterborne transmission of protozoan parasites: A worldwide review of outbreaks and lessons learnt
Panagiotis Karanis, Christina Kourenti, H.V. Smith · 2006 · Journal of Water and Health · 846 citations
At least 325 water-associated outbreaks of parasitic protozoan disease have been reported. North American and European outbreaks accounted for 93% of all reports and nearly two-thirds of outbreaks ...
Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Africa: current and future challenges
Sylvia Afriyie Squire, Una Ryan · 2017 · Parasites & Vectors · 279 citations
CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS: PREVALENCE, GENOTYPE ANALYSIS, AND SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN IN KENYA
Wangeci Gatei, C. N. Wamae, Cecilia Mbae et al. · 2006 · American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 238 citations
Cryptosporidium parasites are leading causes of enteric disease, especially in children. A prospective survey on the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in children less than five years of age was unde...
Reassessment of the epidemiology of amebiasis: State of the art
Cecilia Ximénez, Patricia Morán, Liliana Rojas-Velázquez et al. · 2009 · Infection Genetics and Evolution · 219 citations
Entamoeba Histolytica: Updates in Clinical Manifestation, Pathogenesis, and Vaccine Development
Micaella Kantor, anarella Abrantes, Andrea Estevez et al. · 2018 · Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology · 216 citations
Entamoeba histolytica is the responsible parasite of amoebiasis and remains one of the top three parasitic causes of mortality worldwide. With increased travel and emigration to developed countries...
<i>Entamoeba moshkovskii</i>Infections in Children in Bangladesh
I Ali, Mohammad Bakhtiar Hossain, Shantanu Roy et al. · 2003 · Emerging infectious diseases · 212 citations
Entamoeba moshkovskii cysts are morphologically indistinguishable from those of the disease-causing species E. histolytica and the nonpathogenic E. dispar. Although sporadic cases of human infectio...
Application of a Multiplex Quantitative PCR to Assess Prevalence and Intensity Of Intestinal Parasite Infections in a Controlled Clinical Trial
Stacey Llewellyn, Tawin Inpankaew, Susana Vaz Nery et al. · 2016 · PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 211 citations
Multiplex PCR, in addition to superior sensitivity, enabled more accurate determination of infection intensity for Ascaris, hookworms and Giardia compared to microscopy, especially in samples exhib...
Reading Guide
Foundational Papers
Start with Karanis et al. (2006, 846 citations) for waterborne outbreak patterns, then Ximénez et al. (2009, 219 citations) for amebiasis reassessment, and Ali et al. (2003, 212 citations) for cyst differentiation challenges.
Recent Advances
Kantor et al. (2018, 216 citations) covers clinical updates and travel-related spread. Llewellyn et al. (2016, 211 citations) advances multiplex qPCR for prevalence accuracy.
Core Methods
Microscopy, multiplex quantitative PCR for polyparasitism (Llewellyn et al., 2016), genotyping for strain tracking (Ali et al., 2003), outbreak surveillance mapping (Karanis et al., 2006).
How PapersFlow Helps You Research Epidemiology of Entamoeba histolytica Infections
Discover & Search
Research Agent uses searchPapers with 'Entamoeba histolytica epidemiology waterborne' to retrieve Karanis et al. (2006), then citationGraph reveals 846 citing papers on protozoan outbreaks. exaSearch uncovers recent genotyping studies, while findSimilarPapers links Ximénez et al. (2009) to Ali et al. (2003) for morphological challenges.
Analyze & Verify
Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent to extract prevalence data from Ximénez et al. (2009), then verifyResponse with CoVe cross-checks claims against Ali et al. (2003). runPythonAnalysis processes outbreak datasets from Karanis et al. (2006) for statistical prevalence mapping, with GRADE grading evaluating evidence strength for waterborne transmission.
Synthesize & Write
Synthesis Agent detects gaps in genotyping coverage post-Ali et al. (2003), flagging contradictions between regional prevalences. Writing Agent uses latexEditText for epidemiology review drafts, latexSyncCitations to integrate Karanis et al. (2006), and latexCompile for publication-ready reports. exportMermaid visualizes transmission networks from outbreak data.
Use Cases
"Analyze prevalence trends of E. histolytica in African children from provided papers"
Research Agent → searchPapers → Analysis Agent → runPythonAnalysis (pandas on citation data from Gatei et al. 2006 and Ximénez et al. 2009) → matplotlib prevalence plots and statistical summary exported as CSV.
"Write LaTeX review on waterborne E. histolytica epidemiology"
Synthesis Agent → gap detection → Writing Agent → latexEditText (structure sections) → latexSyncCitations (add Karanis et al. 2006) → latexCompile → PDF with embedded figures.
"Find code for Entamoeba genotyping analysis in papers"
Research Agent → paperExtractUrls (from Llewellyn et al. 2016 multiplex PCR) → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect → Python scripts for qPCR intensity analysis returned to sandbox.
Automated Workflows
Deep Research workflow conducts systematic review: searchPapers on 'E. histolytica epidemiology' → 50+ papers including Karanis et al. (2006) → structured report with prevalence tables. DeepScan applies 7-step analysis with CoVe checkpoints on Ximénez et al. (2009) for invasive case reassessment. Theorizer generates hypotheses on genotyping-strain correlations from Ali et al. (2003) data.
Frequently Asked Questions
What defines epidemiology of Entamoeba histolytica infections?
It examines global prevalence, risk factors like waterborne transmission, and genotyping to distinguish pathogenic strains from E. dispar/moshkovskii (Ximénez et al., 2009).
What are key methods in this subtopic?
Microscopy fails due to morphological similarity; multiplex qPCR detects intensity in polyparasitism (Llewellyn et al., 2016). Genotyping tracks strains (Ali et al., 2003).
What are the most cited papers?
Karanis et al. (2006, 846 citations) reviews 325 waterborne protozoan outbreaks. Ximénez et al. (2009, 219 citations) reassesses amebiasis epidemiology. Ali et al. (2003, 212 citations) studies E. moshkovskii in Bangladesh.
What open problems remain?
Underreporting of invasive cases in developing regions; need for standardized genotyping across outbreaks (Ximénez et al., 2009). Limited surveillance outside North America (Karanis et al., 2006).
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Part of the Amoebic Infections and Treatments Research Guide