Editing Dysentery (section)

===Amoebic dysentery===
{{main|Amoebiasis}}

[[Amoebiasis]], also known as amoebic dysentery, is caused by an infection from the [[amoeba]] ''[[Entamoeba histolytica]]'',<ref>{{cite journal |author=WHO | title=''Amoebiasis''. Report of a WHO Expert Committee |journal=WHO Technical Report Series |year=1969 |volume=421 |pages=1–52 |pmid=4978968 | author-link=World Health Organization }}</ref> which is found mainly in tropical areas.<ref>{{MeshName|Amebic+Dysentery}}</ref> Proper treatment of the underlying infection of amoebic dysentery is important; insufficiently treated amoebiasis can lie dormant for years and subsequently lead to [[Amoebiasis#Complications|severe, potentially fatal, complications]].{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

When amoebae inside the bowel of an infected person are ready to leave the body, they group together and form a shell that surrounds and protects them. This group of amoebae is known as a cyst, which is then passed out of the person's body in the feces and can survive outside the body. If hygiene standards are poor – for example, if the person does not dispose of the feces hygienically – then it can contaminate the surroundings, such as nearby food and water.
If another person then eats or drinks food or water that has been contaminated with feces containing the cyst, that person will also become infected with the amoebae. Amoebic dysentery is particularly common in parts of the world where human feces are used as fertilizer.
After entering the person's body through the mouth, the cyst travels down into the stomach. The amoebae inside the cyst are protected from the stomach's digestive acid. From the stomach, the cyst travels to the intestines, where it breaks open and releases the amoebae, causing the infection. The amoebae can burrow into the walls of the intestines and cause small abscesses and ulcers to form. The cycle then begins again.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}