A seroepidemiological study of amebiasis in adults in Maracaibo, Venezuela

Eight hundred and forty-eight sera collected from adult patients attending the Central and University Hospitals and from blood donors at the Blood Bank in Maracaibo, Venezuela, were screened for serologic evidence of Entamoeba histolytica infection, employing the indirect hemagglutination test. The seropositivity rates obtained ranged from 4.4-6.5% and most of the positive sera showed low titers of 1:128-1:256. A predominance of positive reactors was observed in the first decades of life with a decline after 44 years of age. Parasitologic examinations made in the Central Hospital population revealed E. histolytica infection in 4% of the patients.