Invasive Amebiasis as an Emerging Parasitic Disease in Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection in Taiwan

Abstract

It is estimated that 20% to 30% of homosexual men are colonized with Entamoeba dispar in Western countries.^1-5 This is attributed to oral-anal sex practices.^2,3 Despite the high rates of colonization with E dispar, invasive amebiasis due to Entamoeba histolytica, with amebic colitis or liver abscess, has rarely been reported in homosexual men or persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Western countries. The discrepancy between colonization and diseases is because the isolates of E dispar are nonpathogenic^2,4-9 and tend to spontaneously disappear.⁸ The HIV-infected persons with diarrheal disease who are colonized with E dispar are commonly coinfected with other intestinal pathogens, such as cytomegalovirus, Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium parvum, microsporidia, and Shigella species. These microorganisms could readily account for the diarrhea.^2,9-11