Question

Entamoeba histolytica infections are transmitted through

• A. Bird droppings
• B. Contamination of water and food
• C. Insect bites
• D. Sweat

Answer 1

The correct option is B Contamination of water and food

Entamoeba histolytica

• Host range: Humans and non-human primates

Infectious dose: The average infectious dose is >1000 organisms. Ingestion of one cyst, however, has also been reported to cause disease.

• Mode of transmission: Transmission can occur through the fecal-oral route (ingestion of food and water, contaminated with feces containing E. histolytica cysts). Sexual transmission can also occur.
• Incubation period: Intestinal diseases due to E. histolytica may occur within a few days or may take months. An amebic liver abscess associated with E. histolytica usually appears 8 to 20 weeks after the patient has left an endemic area.
• Communicability: Amebiasis can spread within families. Person-person transmission occurs through fecal-oral-route under conditions of poor hygiene (45 million cysts are passed in the stool daily). Sexual transmission occurs mainly in homosexual males.