Determination of the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar in the pernambuco state of northeastern Brazil by a polymerase chain reaction.

Previous studies using methods varying from traditional serologic tests to molecular biology techniques have shown that in northeastern Brazil, Entamoeba dispar was more prevalent than E. histolytica. In this study, the prevalence was established by using E. histolytica stool antigen detection kits and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with genomic DNA extracted from cultured trophozoites in all four-nuclei, amoeba-positive samples from a population living in Macaparana in northeastern Brazil. Among 1,437 stool samples analyzed, only 59 (4.1%) were positive for four nuclei amoeba. However, all of these samples were negative in an immunoenzymatic assay for the presence of E. histolytica-specific galactose adhesin. Of 59 cultivated samples, only 31 showed trophozoites. Extraction of DNA from these 31 samples, followed by the PCR, showed that 23 samples (74.19%) were positive for E. dispar and no amplification was observed for pathogenic E. histolytica. The remaining eight samples were negative for both species. These findings are consistent with those previously reported.