species infection in patients seeking treatment for diarrhea and abdominal discomfort in Mukuru informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya.

is the only pathogenic species of the genus and is morphologically identical to / ( complex) hence cannot be microscopically differentiated. The other spp. found in humans ( and ) can be differentiated morphologically from this complex. However, some of their morphologic features overlap making differential diagnosis difficult. This study aimed at determining the occurrence of spp. in patients seeking treatment for diarrhea and/or abdominal discomfort at two clinics in Mukuru informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Faecal samples were collected from 895 patients, examined microscopically following direct wet smear and formal-ether concentration methods. spp. positive faecal samples were subjected to DNA extraction and species-specific nested polymerase chain reaction of the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). By microscopy, spp. cysts or trophozoites were detected in 114/895 (12.7%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 10.6-15.1) faecal samples. By nested PCR, the prevalence was: (7.5%, 95% CI 5.9-9.4, 67/895) and (8.2%, 95% CI 6.5-10.2, 73/895). Among the spp. complex positive samples, nested PCR detected and DNA in 63/114 (55.3%) and 37/114 (32.5%), samples respectively. Among the / PCR negative samples (32.5%), 21 (18.4%) contained cysts of either (19) or (2) by nested PCR. spp. infections were most common among participants aged 21-30 years; however it was not significant ( = 0.7). spp. infections showed an inverse relationship with diarrhea being most common among participants without diarrhea ( = 0.0). The difference was significant for ( = 0.0) but not significant for ( = 0.1). Only infections were significantly associated with sex ( = 0.0). This study highlights the need for differentiation of from other spp. by molecular tools for better management of amoebiasis.