Bacillary dysentery is a type of dysentery, and is a severe form of shigellosis.

Bacillary dysentery is associated with species of bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family. The term is usually restricted to "Shigella" infections.

Shigellosis is caused by one of several types of "Shigella" bacteria. Three species are associated with bacillary dysentery: "Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri" and "Shigella dysenteriae". A study in China indicated that "Shigella flexneri" 2a was the most common serotype.

Salmonellosis caused by "Salmonella enterica" (serovar "Typhimurium") has also been described as a cause of bacillary dysentery, though this definition is less common. It is sometimes listed as an explicit differential diagnosis of bacillary dysentery, as opposed to a cause.

Bacillary dysentery should not be confused with diarrhea caused by other bacterial infections. One characteristic of bacillary dysentery is blood in stool, which is the result of invasion of the mucosa by the pathogen.

The most common form of dysentery is bacillary dysentery, which is typically a mild illness, causing symptoms normally consisting of mild stomach pains and frequent passage of stool or diarrhea. Symptoms normally present themselves after one to three days, and are usually no longer present after a week. The frequency of urges to defecate, the large volume of liquid feces passed, and the presence of mucus, pus, and blood depends on the pathogen causing the disease. Temporary lactose intolerance can occur, as well. In some caustic occasions severe abdominal pain, fever, shock, and delirium can all be symptoms.

In extreme cases, dysentery patients may pass more than one litre of fluid per hour. More often, individuals will complain of nausea, abdominal pain, and frequent watery and usually foul-smelling diarrhea, accompanied by mucus, blood, rectal pain, and fever. Vomiting, rapid weight-loss, and generalized muscle aches sometimes also accompany dysentery. On rare occasions, the amoebic parasite will invade the body through the bloodstream and spread beyond the intestines. In such cases, it may more seriously infect other organs such as the brain, lungs, and most commonly the liver.

The onset of TD usually occurs within the first week of travel, but may occur at any time while traveling, and even after returning home, depending on the incubation period of the infectious agent. Bacterial TD typically begins abruptly, but "Cryptosporidium" may incubate for seven days, and "Giardia" for 14 days or more, before symptoms develop. Typically, a traveler experiences four to five loose or watery bowel movements each day. Other commonly associated symptoms are abdominal cramping, bloating, fever, and malaise. Appetite may decrease significantly. Though unpleasant, most cases of TD are mild, and resolve in a few days without medical intervention.

Blood or mucus in the diarrhea, significant abdominal pain, or high fever suggests a more serious cause, such as cholera, characterized by a rapid onset of weakness and torrents of watery diarrhea with flecks of mucus (described as "rice water" stools). Medical care should be sought in such cases; dehydration is a serious consequence of cholera, and may trigger serious sequelae—including, in rare instances, death—as rapidly as 24 hours after onset if not addressed promptly.

Transmission is fecal-oral and is remarkable for the small number of organisms that may cause disease (10 ingested organisms cause illness in 10% of volunteers, and 500 organisms cause disease in 50% of volunteers). "Shigella" bacteria invade the intestinal mucosal cells but do not usually go beyond the lamina propria. Dysentery is caused when the bacteria escape the epithelial cell phagolysosome, multiply within the cytoplasm, and destroy host cells. Shiga toxin causes hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome by damaging endothelial cells in the microvasculature of the colon and the glomeruli, respectively. In addition, chronic arthritis secondary to "S. flexneri" infection, called reactive arthritis, may be caused by a bacterial antigen; the occurrence of this syndrome is strongly linked to HLA-B27 genotype, but the immunologic basis of this reaction is not understood.

Signs and symptoms may range from mild abdominal discomfort to full-blown dysentery characterized by cramps, diarrhea, with slimy-consistent stools, fever, blood, pus, or mucus in stools or tenesmus. Onset time is 12 to 96 hours, and recovery takes 5 to 7 days.

Infections are associated with mucosal ulceration, rectal bleeding, and drastic dehydration. Reactive arthritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome are possible sequelae that have been reported in the aftermath of shigellosis.

"Shigella" can be transmitted through food, including salads (potato, tuna, shrimp, macaroni, and chicken), raw vegetables, milk and dairy products, and meat. Contamination of these foods is usually through the fecal-oral route. Fecally contaminated water and unsanitary handling by food handlers are the most common causes of contamination. Apart from hand-to-mouth infection, shigellosis is transmitted through fomites, water and mechanical vectors like houseflies.

The most common neurological symptom includes seizures.

Dysentery is a type of gastroenteritis that results in diarrhea with blood. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation.

It is caused by several types of infections such as bacteria, viruses, parasitic worms, or protozoa. The mechanism is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon.

Amoebiasis, also known amoebic dysentery, is an infection caused by any of the amoebas of the "Entamoeba" group. Symptoms are most common during infection by "Entamoeba histolytica". Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, or bloody diarrhea. Complications can include inflammation of the colon with tissue death or perforation, which may result in peritonitis. People affected may develop anemia due to loss of blood.

Cysts of "Entamoeba" can survive for up to a month in soil or for up to 45 minutes under fingernails. Invasion of the intestinal lining can cause bloody diarrhea. If the parasite reaches the bloodstream it can spread through the body, most frequently ending up in the liver where it can cause amoebic liver abscesses. Liver abscesses can occur without previous diarrhea. Diagnosis is typical by stool examination using a microscope, but may not reliably exclude infection or separate between specific types. An increased white blood cell count may be present in severe cases. The most accurate test is finding specific antibodies in the blood, but it may remain positive following treatment. Bacterial colitis can result in similar symptoms.

Prevention of amoebiasis is by improved sanitation, including separating food and water from faeces. There is no vaccine. There are two treatment options depending on the location of the infection. Amoebiasis in tissues is treated with either metronidazole, tinidazole, nitazoxanide, dehydroemetine or chloroquine, while luminal infection is treated with diloxanide furoate or iodoquinoline. Effective treatment against all stages of the disease may require a combination of medications. Infections without symptoms do not require treatment but infected individuals can spread the parasite to others and treatment can be considered. Treatment of other "Entamoeba" infections apart from "E. histolytica" is not needed.

Amoebiasis is present all over the world. About 480 million people are infected with amoebiasis and this results in the death of between 40,000–110,000 people a year. Most infections are now believed due to "E. dispar". "E. dispar" is more common in certain areas and symptomatic cases may be less common than previously reported. The first case of amoebiasis was documented in 1875 and in 1891 the disease was described in detail, resulting in the terms "amoebic dysentery" and "amoebic liver abscess". Further evidence from the Philippines in 1913 found that upon swallowing cysts of "E. histolytica" volunteers developed the disease.

The diagnosis of shigellosis is made by isolating the organism from diarrheal fecal sample cultures. "Shigella" species are negative for motility and are generally not lactose fermenters, but "S. sonnei" can ferment lactose. They typically do not produce gas from carbohydrates (with the exception of certain strains of "S. flexneri") and tend to be overall biochemically inert. "Shigella" should also be urea hydrolysis negative. When inoculated to a triple sugar iron slant, they react as follows: K/A, gas -, and HS -. Indole reactions are mixed, positive and negative, with the exception of "S. sonnei", which is always indole negative. Growth on Hektoen enteric agar produces bluish-green colonies for "Shigella" and bluish-green colonies with black centers for "Salmonella".

Traveler's diarrhea (TD) is a stomach and intestinal infection. TD is defined as the passage of unformed stool (one or more by some definitions, three or more by others) while traveling. It may be accompanied by abdominal cramps, nausea, fever, and bloating. Occasionally bloody diarrhea may occur. Most travelers recover within four days with little or no treatment. About 10% of people may have symptoms for a week.

Bacteria are responsible for more than half of cases. The bacteria enterotoxigenic "Escherichia coli" (ETEC) are typically the most common except in Southeast Asia, where "Campylobacter" is more prominent. About 10% to 20% of cases are due to norovirus. Protozoa such as "Giardia" may cause longer term disease. The risk is greatest in the first two weeks of travel and among young adults. People affected are more often from the developed world.

Recommendations for prevention include eating only properly cleaned and cooked food, drinking bottled water, and frequent hand washing. The oral cholera vaccine, while effective for cholera, is of questionable use for traveler's diarrhea. Preventative antibiotics are generally discouraged. Primary treatment includes drinking lots of fluids and replacing lost salts (oral rehydration therapy). Antibiotics are recommended for significant or persistent symptoms, and can be taken with loperamide to decrease diarrhea. Hospitalization is required in less than 3% of cases.

Estimates of the percentage of people affected range from 20 to 50% among travelers to the developing world. TD is particularly common among people travelling to Asia (except Japan), the Middle East, Africa, Mexico, and Central and South America. The risk is moderate in Southern Europe, Russia, and China. TD has been linked to later irritable bowel syndrome and Guillain–Barré syndrome. It has colloquially been known by a number of names, including "Montezuma's revenge" and "Delhi belly".

Most infected people, about 90%, are asymptomatic, but this disease has the potential to make the sufferer dangerously ill. It is estimated that about 40,000 to 100,000 people worldwide die annually due to amoebiasis.

Infections can sometimes last for years. Symptoms take from a few days to a few weeks to develop and manifest themselves, but usually it is about two to four weeks. Symptoms can range from mild diarrhea to severe dysentery with blood and mucus. The blood comes from lesions formed by the amoebae invading the lining of the large intestine. In about 10% of invasive cases the amoebae enter the bloodstream and may travel to other organs in the body. Most commonly this means the liver, as this is where blood from the intestine reaches first, but they can end up almost anywhere in the body.

Onset time is highly variable and the average asymptomatic infection persists for over a year. It is theorized that the absence of symptoms or their intensity may vary with such factors as strain of amoeba, immune response of the host, and perhaps associated bacteria and viruses.

In asymptomatic infections the amoeba lives by eating and digesting bacteria and food particles in the gut, a part of the gastrointestinal tract. It does not usually come in contact with the intestine itself due to the protective layer of mucus that lines the gut. Disease occurs when amoeba comes in contact with the cells lining the intestine. It then secretes the same substances it uses to digest bacteria, which include enzymes that destroy cell membranes and proteins. This process can lead to penetration and digestion of human tissues, resulting first in flask-shaped ulcers in the intestine. "Entamoeba histolytica" ingests the destroyed cells by phagocytosis and is often seen with red blood cells (a process known as erythrophagocytosis) inside when viewed in stool samples. Especially in Latin America, a granulomatous mass (known as an amoeboma) may form in the wall of the ascending colon or rectum due to long-lasting immunological cellular response, and is sometimes confused with cancer.

"Theoretically, the ingestion of one viable cyst can cause an infection."

The prodromal symptoms are fever, headache, and myalgia, which can be severe, lasting as long as 24 hours. After 1–5 days, typically, these are followed by diarrhea (as many as 10 watery, frequently bloody, bowel movements per day) or dysentery, cramps, abdominal pain, and fever as high as 40 °C (104 °F). In most people, the illness lasts for 2–10 days. It is classified as invasive/inflammatory diarrhea, also described as bloody diarrhea or dysentery.

There are other diseases showing similar symptoms. For instance, abdominal pain and tenderness may be very localized, mimicking acute appendicitis. Furthermore, "Helicobacter pylori" is closely related to Campylobacter and causes peptic ulcer disease.

Enteroinvasive "Escherichia coli" (EIEC) is a type of pathogenic bacteria whose infection causes a syndrome that is identical to shigellosis, with profuse diarrhea and high fever. EIEC are highly invasive, and they use adhesin proteins to bind to and enter intestinal cells. They produce no toxins, but severely damage the intestinal wall through mechanical cell destruction.

It is closely related to "Shigella".

After the "E. coli" strain penetrates through the epithelial wall, the endocytosis vacuole gets lysed, the strain multiplies using the host cell machinery, and extends to the adjacent epithelial cell. In addition, the plasmid of the strain carries genes for a type III secretion system that is used as the virulent factor. Although it is an invasive disease, the invasion usually does not pass the submucosal layer. The similar pathology to shigellosis may be because both strains of bacteria share some virulent factors. The invasion of the cells can trigger a mild form of diarrhea or dysentery, often mistaken for dysentery caused by "Shigella" species. The illness is characterized by the appearance of blood and mucus in the stools of infected individuals or a condition called colitis.

Dysentery caused by EIEC usually occurs within 12 to 72 hours following the ingestion of contaminated food. The illness is characterized by abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, chills, and a generalized malaise. Dysentery caused by this organism is generally self-limiting with no known complications.

Enterovirulent classes of "E. coli" are referred to as the EEC group (enterovirulent "E. coli"):

1. Enteroinvasive "E. coli" (EIEC) invades (passes into) the intestinal wall to produce severe diarrhea.

2. Enterohemorrhagic "E. coli" (EHEC): A type of EHEC, "E. coli" 0157:H7, can cause bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome (anemia and kidney failure).

3. Enterotoxigenic "E. coli" (ETEC) produces a toxin that acts on the intestinal lining, and is the most common cause of traveler's diarrhea.

4. Enteropathogenic "E. coli" (EPEC) can cause diarrhea outbreaks in newborn nurseries.

5. Enteroaggregative "E. coli" (EAggEC) can cause acute and chronic (long-lasting) diarrhea in children.

It is currently unknown what foods may harbor EIEC, but any food contaminated with human feces from an ill individual, either directly or via contaminated water, could cause disease in others. Outbreaks have been associated with hamburger meat and unpasteurized milk.

Complications include toxic megacolon, dehydration and sepsis. Such complications generally occur in young children (< 1 year of age) and immunocompromised people. A chronic course of the disease is possible; this disease process is likely to develop without a distinct acute phase. Chronic campylobacteriosis features a long period of sub-febrile temperature and asthenia; eye damage, arthritis, endocarditis may develop if infection is untreated.

Occasional deaths occur in young, previously healthy individuals because of blood volume depletion (due to dehydration), and in persons who are elderly or immunocompromised.

Some individuals (1–2 in 100,000 cases) develop Guillain–Barré syndrome, in which the nerves that join the spinal cord and brain to the rest of the body are damaged, sometimes permanently. This occurs only with infection of "C. jejuni" and "C. upsaliensis".

The most commonly reported symptoms in conjunction with infection with "D. fragilis" include abdominal pain (69%) and diarrhea (61%). Diarrhea may be intermittent and may not be present in all cases. It is often chronic, lasting over two weeks. The degree of symptoms may vary from asymptomatic to severe, and can include weight loss, vomiting, fever, and involvement of other digestive organs.

Symptoms may be more severe in children. Additional symptoms reported have included:

1. Weight loss

2. Fatigue

3. Nausea and vomiting

4. Fever

5. Urticaria (skin rash)

6. Pruritus (itchiness)

7. Biliary infection

Classically, the course of untreated typhoid fever is divided into four distinct stages, each lasting about a week. Over the course of these stages, the patient becomes exhausted and emaciated.

- In the first week, the body temperature rises slowly, and fever fluctuations are seen with relative bradycardia (Faget sign), malaise, headache, and cough. A bloody nose (epistaxis) is seen in a quarter of cases, and abdominal pain is also possible. A decrease in the number of circulating white blood cells (leukopenia) occurs with eosinopenia and relative lymphocytosis; blood cultures are positive for "Salmonella" Typhi or "S. paratyphi". The Widal test is usually negative in the first week.

- In the second week, the person is often too tired to get up, with high fever in plateau around and bradycardia (sphygmothermic dissociation or Faget sign), classically with a dicrotic pulse wave. Delirium is frequent, often calm, but sometimes agitated. This delirium gives to typhoid the nickname of "nervous fever". Rose spots appear on the lower chest and abdomen in around a third of patients. Rhonchi are heard in lung bases.

- The abdomen is distended and painful in the right lower quadrant, where borborygmi can be heard. Diarrhea can occur in this stage: six to eight stools in a day, green, comparable to pea soup, with a characteristic smell. However, constipation is also frequent. The spleen and liver are enlarged (hepatosplenomegaly) and tender, and liver transaminases are elevated. The Widal test is strongly positive, with antiO and antiH antibodies. Blood cultures are sometimes still positive at this stage.

- (The major symptom of this fever is that the fever usually rises in the afternoon up to the first and second week.)

- In the third week of typhoid fever, a number of complications can occur:

- Intestinal haemorrhage due to bleeding in congested Peyer's patches; this can be very serious, but is usually not fatal.

- Intestinal perforation in the distal ileum: this is a very serious complication and is frequently fatal. It may occur without alarming symptoms until septicaemia or diffuse peritonitis sets in.

- Encephalitis

- Respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and acute bronchitis

- Neuropsychiatric symptoms (described as "muttering delirium" or "coma vigil"), with picking at bedclothes or imaginary objects.

- Metastatic abscesses, cholecystitis, endocarditis, and osteitis

- The fever is still very high and oscillates very little over 24 hours. Dehydration ensues, and the patient is delirious (typhoid state). One-third of affected individuals develop a macular rash on the trunk.

- Platelet count goes down slowly and risk of bleeding rises.

- By the end of third week, the fever starts subsiding

Diarrhea is defined by the World Health Organization as having three or more loose or liquid stools per day, or as having more stools than is normal for that person.

Acute diarrhea is defined as an abnormally frequent discharge of semisolid or fluid fecal matter from the bowel, lasting less than 14 days, by World Gastroenterology Organization.

Enterocolitis or coloenteritis is an inflammation of the digestive tract, involving enteritis of the small intestine and colitis of the colon. It may be caused by various infections, with bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, or other causes. Common clinical manifestations of enterocolitis are frequent diarrheal defecations, with or without nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, chills, alteration of general condition. General manifestations are given by the dissemination of the infectious agent or its toxins throughout the body, or – most frequently – by significant losses of water and minerals, the consequence of diarrhea and vomiting.

Among the causal agents of acute enterocolitis are:

- bacteria: "Salmonella", "Shigella", "Escherichia coli", "Campylobacter" etc.;

- viruses: enteroviruses, rotaviruses, Norwalk virus, adenoviruses;

- fungi: candidiasis, especially in immunosuppressed patients or who have previously received prolonged antibiotic treatment;

- parasites: "Giardia lamblia" (with high frequency of infestation in the population, but not always with clinical manifestations), "Balantidium coli", "Blastocystis homnis", "Cryptosporidium" (diarrhea in people with immunosuppression), "Entamoeba histolytica" (produces the amebian dysentery, common in tropical areas).

Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose or liquid bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin with loss of the normal stretchiness of the skin and irritable behaviour. This can progress to decreased urination, loss of skin color, a fast heart rate, and a decrease in responsiveness as it becomes more severe. Loose but non-watery stools in babies who are breastfed, however, may be normal.

The most common cause is an infection of the intestines due to either a virus, bacteria, or parasite - a condition also known as gastroenteritis. These infections are often acquired from food or water that has been contaminated by feces, or directly from another person who is infected. The three types of diarrhea are: short duration watery diarrhea, short duration bloody diarrhea, and persistent diarrhea (lasting more than two weeks). The short duration watery diarrhea may be due to an infection by cholera, although this is rare in the developed world. If blood is present it is also known as dysentery. A number of non-infectious causes can result in diarrhea. These include lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, and a number of medications. In most cases, stool cultures to confirm the exact cause are not required.

Diarrhea can be prevented by improved sanitation, clean drinking water, and hand washing with soap. Breastfeeding for at least six months and vaccination against rotavirus is also recommended. Oral rehydration solution (ORS)--clean water with modest amounts of salts and sugar--is the treatment of choice. Zinc tablets are also recommended. These treatments have been estimated to have saved 50 million children in the past 25 years. When people have diarrhea it is recommended that they continue to eat healthy food and babies continue to be breastfed. If commercial ORS are not available, homemade solutions may be used. In those with severe dehydration, intravenous fluids may be required. Most cases; however, can be managed well with fluids by mouth. Antibiotics, while rarely used, may be recommended in a few cases such as those who have bloody diarrhea and a high fever, those with severe diarrhea following travelling, and those who grow specific bacteria or parasites in their stool. Loperamide may help decrease the number of bowel movements but is not recommended in those with severe disease.

About 1.7 to 5 billion cases of diarrhea occur per year. It is most common in developing countries, where young children get diarrhea on average three times a year. Total deaths from diarrhea are estimated at 1.26 million in 2013 – down from 2.58 million in 1990. In 2012, it was the second most common cause of deaths in children younger than five (0.76 million or 11%). Frequent episodes of diarrhea are also a common cause of malnutrition and the most common cause in those younger than five years of age. Other long term problems that can result include stunted growth and poor intellectual development.

Specific types of enterocolitis include:

- necrotizing enterocolitis (most common in premature infants)

- pseudomembranous enterocolitis (also called "Pseudomembranous colitis")

Symptoms

- Pain right hypochondrium referred to right shoulder

- Pyrexia (100.4 F)

- Profuse sweating and rigors

- Loss of weight

- Earthy complexion

Signs

- Pallor

- Tenderness and rigidity in right hypochondrium

- Palpable liver

- tenderness

- Basal lung signs

The signs and symptoms of malaria typically begin 8–25 days following infection; however, symptoms may occur later in those who have taken antimalarial medications as prevention. Initial manifestations of the disease—common to all malaria species—are similar to flu-like symptoms, and can resemble other conditions such as sepsis, gastroenteritis, and viral diseases. The presentation may include headache, fever, shivering, joint pain, vomiting, hemolytic anemia, jaundice, hemoglobin in the urine, retinal damage, and convulsions.

The classic symptom of malaria is paroxysm—a cyclical occurrence of sudden coldness followed by shivering and then fever and sweating, occurring every two days (tertian fever) in "P. vivax" and "P. ovale" infections, and every three days (quartan fever) for "P. malariae". "P. falciparum" infection can cause recurrent fever every 36–48 hours, or a less pronounced and almost continuous fever.

Severe malaria is usually caused by "P. falciparum" (often referred to as falciparum malaria). Symptoms of falciparum malaria arise 9–30 days after infection. Individuals with cerebral malaria frequently exhibit neurological symptoms, including abnormal posturing, nystagmus, conjugate gaze palsy (failure of the eyes to turn together in the same direction), opisthotonus, seizures, or coma.

Malaria has several serious complications. Among these is the development of respiratory distress, which occurs in up to 25% of adults and 40% of children with severe "P. falciparum" malaria. Possible causes include respiratory compensation of metabolic acidosis, noncardiogenic pulmonary oedema, concomitant pneumonia, and severe anaemia. Although rare in young children with severe malaria, acute respiratory distress syndrome occurs in 5–25% of adults and up to 29% of pregnant women. Coinfection of HIV with malaria increases mortality. Renal failure is a feature of blackwater fever, where hemoglobin from lysed red blood cells leaks into the urine.

Infection with "P. falciparum" may result in cerebral malaria, a form of severe malaria that involves encephalopathy. It is associated with retinal whitening, which may be a useful clinical sign in distinguishing malaria from other causes of fever. Enlarged spleen, enlarged liver or both of these, severe headache, low blood sugar, and hemoglobin in the urine with renal failure may occur. Complications may include spontaneous bleeding, coagulopathy, and shock.

Malaria in pregnant women is an important cause of stillbirths, infant mortality, abortion and low birth weight, particularly in "P. falciparum" infection, but also with "P. vivax".

Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a bacterial infection due to "Salmonella" typhi that causes symptoms. Symptoms may vary from mild to severe and usually begin six to thirty days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several days. Weakness, abdominal pain, constipation, and headaches also commonly occur. Diarrhea is uncommon and vomiting is not usually severe. Some people develop a skin rash with rose colored spots. In severe cases there may be confusion. Without treatment, symptoms may last weeks or months. Other people may carry the bacterium without being affected; however, they are still able to spread the disease to others. Typhoid fever is a type of enteric fever along with paratyphoid fever.

The cause is the bacterium "Salmonella" typhi, also known as "Salmonella enterica" serotype Typhi, growing in the intestines and blood. Typhoid is spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. Risk factors include poor sanitation and poor hygiene. Those who travel to the developing world are also at risk and only humans can be infected. Diagnosis is by either culturing the bacteria or detecting the bacterium's DNA in the blood, stool, or bone marrow. Culturing the bacterium can be difficult. Bone marrow testing is the most accurate. Symptoms are similar to that of many other infectious diseases. Typhus is a different disease.

A typhoid vaccine can prevent about 30% to 70% of cases during the first two years. The vaccine may have some effect for up to seven years. It is recommended for those at high risk or people traveling to areas where the disease is common. Other efforts to prevent the disease include providing clean drinking water, better sanitation, and better handwashing. Until it has been confirmed that an individual's infection is cleared, the individual should not prepare food for others. Treatment of disease is with antibiotics such as azithromycin, fluoroquinolones or third generation cephalosporins. Resistance to these antibiotics has been developing, which has made treatment of the disease more difficult.

In 2015, there were 12.5 million new cases worldwide. The disease is most common in India. Children are most commonly affected. Rates of disease decreased in the developed world in the 1940s as a result of improved sanitation and use of antibiotics to treat the disease. Each year in the United States, about 400 cases are reported and it is estimated that the disease occurs in about 6,000 people. In 2015, it resulted in about 149,000 deaths worldwide – down from 181,000 in 1990 (about 0.3% of the global total). The risk of death may be as high as 20% without treatment. With treatment, it is between 1 and 4%. The name typhoid means "resembling typhus" due to the similarity in symptoms.

Diagnosis is usually performed by submitting multiple stool samples for examination by a parasitologist in a procedure known as an ova and parasite examination. About 30% of children with "D. fragilis" infection exhibit peripheral blood eosinophilia.

A minimum of three stool specimens having been immediately fixed in polyvinyl alcohol fixative, sodium acetate-acetic acid-formalin fixative, or Schaudinn's fixative should be submitted, as the protozoan does not remain morphologically identifiable for long. All specimens, regardless of consistency, are permanently stained prior to microscopic examination with an oil immersion lens. The disease may remain cryptic due to the lack of a cyst stage if these recommendations are not followed.

The trophozoite forms have been recovered from formed stool, thus the need to perform the ova and parasite examination on specimens other than liquid or soft stools. DNA fragment analysis provides excellent sensitivity and specificity when compared to microscopy for the detection of "D. fragilis" and both methods should be employed in laboratories with PCR capability. The most sensitive detection method is parasite culture, and the culture medium requires the addition of rice starch.

An indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) for fixed stool specimens has been developed.

1. One researcher investigated the phenomenon of symptomatic relapse following treatment of infection with "D. fragilis" in association with its apparent disappearance from stool samples. The organism could still be detected in patients through colonoscopy or by examining stool samples taken in conjunction with a saline laxative.

2. A study found that trichrome staining, a traditional method for identification, had a sensitivity of 36% (9/25) when compared to stool culture.

3. An additional study found that the sensitivity of staining was 50% (2/4), and that the organism could be successfully cultured in stool specimens up to 12-hours old that were kept at room temperature.

A amoebic liver abscess is a type of liver abscess caused by amebiasis. It is the involvement of liver tissue by trophozoites of the organism "Entamoeba histolytica" and of is abscess due to necrosis.