Amebiasis: an update.

Although amebiasis is often considered a disease of developing countries, it is an important public health problem throughout the world. At least 90% of infected patients are asymptomatic, but the remainder may present with clinical syndromes ranging from frank dysentery to abscesses of the liver, lungs, or brain. The most common challenge for physicians in developed countries is treating infection due to Entamoeba histolytica in an asymptomatic patient or determining its clinical significance in a patient with AIDS who has diarrhea. In light of recent improvements in diagnosis and therapy, the protean clinical manifestations of amebic infection are reviewed along with the indications for therapy. Advances in research that may directly affect our management of amebiasis in the near future are highlighted.