What is Endolimax Nana?

He Endolimax nana It is an intestinal amoeba that parasitizes exclusively the intestine of humans. However, it is a non-pathogenic commensal parasite, which means that it does not cause considerable harm to human beings.

The distribution of this amoeba is cosmopolitan, but it is more likely to be found in warm, humid environments. Its prevalence is even greater in areas with poor hygiene or with deficient health resources.

What is Endolimax Nana?

The route of transmission is through the intake of food or drinks contaminated with amoebic cysts.

symptom

Although it does not cause disease like other amebas, there have been reports of chronic diarrhea, urticaria, constipation, rectal pain, vomiting, among other conditions in some patients contaminated with Endolimax nana .

It is important to note that according to some surveys, the prevalence can be as high as 30% in some populations.

Morphology

Endolimax nana It is the smallest of the intestinal amoebae that infect humans, hence its name"nana". This amoeba, like other intestinal amoebae, has two forms in its development: the trophozoite and the cyst.

Trophozoite

The trophozoite has an irregular shape and its average size is quite small, 8 -10μm (micrometers). It has a single nucleus sometimes visible in unstained preparations and its cytoplasm has a granular appearance.

Cyst

The cyst is the infectious form of Endolimax nana , its shape is spherical and its size ranges between 5-10μm. During its maturation, fully developed cysts contain 4 nuclei, although some may have up to 8 nuclei (hypernucleated forms). The cytoplasm may contain diffuse glycogen and small inclusions.

Lifecycle

Both the cysts and the trophozoites of these microorganisms are transmitted in the faeces and used to diagnose. Generally, cysts are found in well-formed droppings and trophozoites are found particularly in diarrheic excreta.

1-Infected human feces contain both forms of the amoeba, trophozoites and cysts.

2-Colonization of the host occurs after the ingestion of mature cysts present in food, water or any object contaminated with fecal matter.

3-In the small intestine of the infected person occurs the exquistación, which is the division of the mature cyst (four-core) to give rise to 8 trophozoites that then migrate to the large intestine. The trophozoites are divided by binary fission and produce cysts. Finally, both forms pass in the stool to repeat the cycle.

What is Endolimax Nana?  1

Due to the protection conferred by its cell walls, the cysts can survive many days, even weeks, on the outside they are already protected by their cell wall. The cysts are responsible for the transmission.

In contrast, the trophozoites do not have that protective cell wall that the cysts have, so that, once outside the body, they would be destroyed under these conditions. If a person ingests food or water contaminated with trophozoites, they will not survive the acid medium of the stomach.

Diagnosis

The confirmation of the parasitosis is by microscopic identification of the cysts or trophozoites in the stool samples. However, living cysts and trophozoites are difficult to differentiate from other amoebas, such as Entamoeba histolytica , Dientamoeba fragilis Y Entamoeba hartmanni .

Cysts can be identified in concentrated wet mount preparations, stained smears or other microbiological techniques. Typical ovoid cysts are easily identified in fecal samples with iodine and hematoxylin.

The clinical importance of Endolimax nana is to differentiate it from pathogenic amoebae as E. histolytica . Because Dwarf it is commensal, the specific treatment is not indicated.

References:

  1. Bogitsh, B., Carter, C., & Oeltmann, T. (1962). Human Parasitology . British Medical Journal (4th ed.). Elsevier Inc.
  2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention website. Retrieved from: cdc.gov
  3. Long, S., Pickering, L., & Prober, C. (2012). Principle and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (4th ed.). Elsevier Saunders
  4. Sard, B. G., Navarro, R. T., & Esteban Sanchis, J. G. (2011). Nonpathogenic intestinal amebas: a clinicoanalytic view. Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology , 29 (Suppl 3), 20-28.
  5. Shah, M., Tan, C. B., Rajan, D., Ahmed, S., Subramani, K., Rizvon, K., & Mustacchia, P. (2012). Blastocystis hominis and Endolimax nana Co-infection resulting in chronic diarrhea in an immunocompetent male. Case Reports in Gastroenterology , 6 (2), 358-364.
  6. Stauffer, J. Q., & Levine, W. L. (1974). Chronic diarrhea related to Endolimax Nana - Response to treatment with metronidazole. The American Journal of Digestive Diseases , 19 (1), 59-63.
  7. Veraldi, S., Schianchi Veraldi, R., & Gasparini, G. (1991). Urticaria probably caused by Endolimax nana. International Journal of Dermatology 30 (5): 376.
  8. Zaman, V., Howe, J., Ng, M., & Goh, T. (2000). Ultrastructure of the Endolimax nana cyst. Parasitology Research , 86 (1), 54-6.


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