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Doctors Found a Parasite Eating a Man’s Liver. Then Traced How He Got It
Newsweek • • health
Key Points:
- Doctors in Italy traced two large liver abscesses in a truck driver to the parasite Entamoeba histolytica, typically linked to poor sanitation in tropical regions, revealing an unusual transmission route involving body lice and a sexual encounter.
- The 41-year-old man initially suffered from body lice infestation, followed by severe diarrhea, weight loss, fevers, and liver lesions; tests confirmed invasive amoebiasis alongside a Borrelia infection likely acquired from lice.
- The parasite was likely transmitted sexually through oral-anal contact during a paid encounter with a man, highlighting a less common mode of transmission for amoebiasis outside typical fecal-oral routes.
- Treatment with metronidazole and paromomycin was successful, with the patient’s liver abscesses nearly resolved after six months and antibody levels significantly reduced.
- The case underscores the need for clinicians to consider sexual transmission and global travel in diagnosing unexplained gastrointestinal illnesses, though experts caution it does not indicate a broader public health risk in Europe.
