An outbreak of amoebic infection in a kibbutz population

The cause of a reported outbreak of abdominal cramps and diarrhoea in a kibbutz in the Western Negev, Israel, was sought. Over 25% of the kibbutz population was found to harbour Entamoeba histolytica, a very high rate by Israeli standards. The highest frequency of infection was in the nought to nine-year-old group. High frequencies were also observed among 30- to 49-year-old women. The sanitary and hygienic conditions in the kibbutz, checked at the time of the epidemic and five years later, were extremely poor. These findings support the generally accepted idea of the close relationship between personal hygiene, sanitary food conditions and amoebic infection.