Amebiasis in Institutions for the Mentally Retarded in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Kouichi Nagakura, Hiroshi Tachibana, Yoshimasa Kaneda, Hidekatsu Suzuku, Katsushi Sasaoka, Seiki Kobayashi, Tsutomu Takeuchi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A parasitologic survey of 620 mentally retarded patients, institutionalized in five different facilities in Kanagawa Prefecture, revealed a high incidence (12.6%) of infection with Entamoeba histolytica. A concomitant serologic survey, by the indirect fluorescent antibody test, gave a much higher incidence (26.5%). Moreover, most zymodeme patterns of the amebae isolated from infected individuals were of a pathogenic type (Zymodeme II). Our findings demonstrate that the mentally retarded in Japan, as in the United States, still are plagued by a high rate of amebic infection.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)123-131
Number of pages9
JournalJapanese Journal of Medical Science and Biology
Volume43
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1990

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Amebiasis in Institutions for the Mentally Retarded in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this