How to Diagnose Dysentery

Dysentery, a bloody diarrhea, is not a disease in itself and may have many causes. Dysentery kills about 700,000 people throughout the world each year, usually in developing countries with poor sanitation that mixes sewage with drinking water. Dysentery is classified into 2 groups according to cause: amebic and bacillary, with both forms being transmitted between people by poor hygiene practices.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Recognize the symptoms of amebic dysentery. It causes profuse diarrhea accompanied by fever, severe stomach pain and a rapid loss of weight.

2. Expect bacillary dysentery to cause small frequent stools containing blood and mucus. The patient frequently experiences abdominal pain and an unsuccessful urge to evacuate the bowels.

3. Note that Entamoeba histolytica causes amebiasis, which is the most common form of amebic dysentery. This form is more chronic as the ameba has both a motile and encysted form with different disease courses.

4. Detect bacteria in the Shigella genus to identify shigellosis, the most common form of bacillary dysentery. This disease can range from a mild diarrheal illness to a sudden death resulting from dehydration and bacterial toxins.

5. Confirm a diagnosis of dysentery by identifying a known causative agent. An enzyme immunoassay is used to confirm the presence of Entameoba histolytica. Shigella bacteria can be detected 80 percent of the time with latex agglutination and other preliminary tests. A colonic biopsy can be performed to distinguish between dysentery and ulcerative colitis.

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