Digestive health centre

Amoebic dysentery is rare in the UK. But it's quite common around the world, especially in developing countries and tropical countries. People from the UK are most likely to get it if they've been travelling in these countries.

Amoebas are tiny parasites. This means they can live inside your body. There are different types of amoeba, and they don't always make you ill. This makes it hard to say exactly how many people are infected with the type that causes dysentery.

Infection with amoebas is more common in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia.^[13][14][15] Up to 40 in 100 people in these areas may be infected. Most of these people won't become ill, but they can pass on the infection to other people.

In the UK and other developed countries, less than 1 in 100 people have amoebas in their body.^[16] People in these countries are most likely to get amoebic dysentery when they're travelling in the developing parts of the world.^[16]

Amoebic dysentery is also more common in crowded conditions or places where lots of people live together, for example at an army barracks.^[16][17][18]

Around the world, between 40,000 and 100,000 people die of amoebic dysentery each year.^[19] But it's rare to die of amoebic dysentery in countries such as the UK, where you have easy access to good health care.

Glossary

parasite

Parasites are germs or creatures that can only survive by living on or in another living thing.

For more terms related to Amoebic dysentery

Citations