Table 1.
The prevalence of Entamoeba infections in the study population as determined by PCR.
| Characteristics of the population | E. moshkovskii | E. dispar | E. histolytica | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Male | 3(16.7%) | 5(27,8%) | 2(11,1%) |
| Female | 24 (23.8%) | 20 (19.8%) | 5 (5.0%) | |
| χ2 | 0.439 | 0.586 | 1.047 | |
| p value | 0.508 | 0.444 | 0.306 | |
| Age group | 0–25 | 10 (23.3%) | 10 (23.3%) | 3 (7.0%) |
| 26–45 | 11(27.5%) | 8(20%) | 3 (7.5%) | |
| >45 | 6(16.7%) | 7(19.4%) | 1 (2.8%) | |
| χ2 | 1.280 | 0.208 | ||
| p value | 0.527 | 0.901 | ||
| Marital status | Divorced | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Married | 4(20.9%) | 13 (19.4%) | 3(4.5) | |
| Single | 12 (25.5%) | 12 (25.5%) | 4(8.5%) | |
| Widowed | 1 (25.0%) | 0 | 0 | |
| BMI | Not Underweight | 7(6.9%) | 23(22.5%) | 24(23.5%) |
| Underweight | 0 | 2(11.8%) | 3(17.6%) | |
| χ2 | 0.287 | 1.021 | 1.240 | |
| p value | 0.592 | 0.312 | 0.266 | |
| District | Mopani | 27(65.9%) | 25(65.8%) | 7(46.7%) |
| Vhembe | 14(34.1%) | 13(34.2%) | 8(53.3%) | |
| χ2 | 0.442 | 0.413 | 4.265 | |
| p value | 0.506 | 0.520 | 0.039 | |
| Medication (drugs or antibiotics) | No | 6(6.8%) | 19(21.6%) | 24(27.3%) |
| Yes | 1(3.2%) | 6(19.4%) | 3(9.7%) | |
| χ2 | 4.046 | 0.069 | 0.534 | |
| p value | 0.044 | 0.793 | 0.465 | |