ABSTRACT
Sera from healthy individuals with no evidence of past or present amebiasis will also produce the same effects on organisms as immune sera. In San Francisco, the incidence of reported symptomatic intestinal amebiasis has increased over 1000% during the last 10 years among homosexual men between 20 and 39 years of age. Differentiation between amebiasis and IBD, including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohns disease (CD), can be very difficult on the basis of clinical grounds, and the correct diagnosis often depends on the recovery and identification of E. histolytica organisms from the intestinal tract. The importance of making the appropriate diagnosis should be emphasized; the therapeutic approach to amebiasis and IBD are quite different and an incorrect diagnosis could certainly put the patient at risk for complications. Patients found to have E. histolytica in the intestinal tract, even if they are asymptomatic, should be treated to eliminate the organisms.
