This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Johnson, E. H.
Right arrow Articles by Clark, C. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Johnson, E. H.
Right arrow Articles by Clark, C. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, July 2004, p. 553-570, Vol. 17, No. 3
0893-8512/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CMR.17.3.553-570.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Emerging from Obscurity: Biological, Clinical, and Diagnostic Aspects of Dientamoeba fragilis

Eugene H. Johnson,1* Jeffrey J. Windsor,2 and C. Graham Clark3

Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khod 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman,1 National Public Health Service for Wales, Microbiology Aberystwyth, Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth Ceredigion SY23 1ER, Wales,2 Department of Infections and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, England3

Ever since its first description in 1918, Dientamoeba fragilis has struggled to gain recognition as a significant pathogen. There is little justification for this neglect, however, since there exists a growing body of case reports from numerous countries around the world that have linked this protozoal parasite to clinical manifestations such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, flatulence, and anorexia. A number of studies have even incriminated D. fragilis as a cause of irritable bowel syndrome, allergic colitis, and diarrhea in human immunodeficiency virus patients. Although D. fragilis is most commonly identified using permanently stained fecal smears, recent advances in culturing techniques are simplifying as well as improving the ability of investigators to detect this organism. However, there are limitations in the use of cultures since they cannot be performed on fecal samples that have been fixed. Significant progress has been made in the biological classification of this organism, which originally was described as an ameba. Analyses of small-subunit rRNA gene sequences have clearly demonstrated its close relationship to Histomonas, and it is now known to be a trichomonad. How the organism is transmitted remains a mystery, although there is some evidence that D. fragilis might be transmitted via the ova of the pinworm, Enterobius vermicularis. Also, it remains to be answered whether the two distinct genotypes of D. fragilis recently identified represent organisms with differing virulence.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, Al-Khod 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Phone: (968) 515-234. Fax: (968) 513-418. E-mail: ejohnson{at}squ.edu.om.

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, July 2004, p. 553-570, Vol. 17, No. 3
0893-8512/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CMR.17.3.553-570.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Schuster, H, Jackson, R S (2009). Prevalence of Dientamoeba fragilis among patients consulting complementary medicine practitioners in the British Isles. J. Clin. Pathol. 62: 182-184 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bart, A., van der Heijden, H. M., Greve, S., Speijer, D., Landman, W. J., van Gool, T. (2008). Intragenomic Variation in the Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 Region of Dientamoeba fragilis as a Molecular Epidemiological Marker. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 3270-3275 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lagace-Wiens, P. R., VanCaeseele, P. G., Koschik, C. (2006). Dientamoeba fragilis: an emerging role in intestinal disease.. CMAJ 175: 468-469 [Full Text]  
  • Stark, D., Beebe, N., Marriott, D., Ellis, J., Harkness, J. (2006). Evaluation of Three Diagnostic Methods, Including Real-Time PCR, for Detection of Dientamoeba fragilis in Stool Specimens. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 232-235 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stark, D., Beebe, N., Marriott, D., Ellis, J., Harkness, J. (2005). Prospective Study of the Prevalence, Genotyping, and Clinical Relevance of Dientamoeba fragilis Infections in an Australian Population. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 2718-2723 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Windsor, J.J., Macfarlane, L. (2005). IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME: THE NEED TO EXCLUDE DIENTAMOEBA FRAGILIS. Am J Trop Med Hyg 72: 501-501 [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»