Your browser version may not work well with NCBI's Web applications. More information here...
1: J Travel Med. 1997 Mar 1;4(1):17-31.Click here to read Links

Parasites and Diarrhea. I: Protozoans and Diarrhea.

Hashmey R, Genta RM, White Jr AC.

Departments of Medicine, Pathology, and Microbiology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

Intestinal parasitism is extremely common, with approximately 70% of all people harboring one or more intestinal parasite. Parasitism and diarrhea are both hyperendemic in areas where sanitation is suboptimal. Many clinicians assume that the identification of intestinal parasites in patients with diarrhea implies that the parasites are the cause. This approach is frequently misguided. Some intestinal parasites such as Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica certainly do cause diarrhea. Others, for example Entamoeba coli and Ascaris lumbricoides, almost certainly do not. In addition, there are a number of other organisms that have been associated with diarrheal illness in some cases, which may or may not be important pathogens. In this article, we will review the role of protozoans as definite and possible causes of diarrhea. In Part II, we review the role of helminths in diarrhea.

PMID: 9815473 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]