Amebic liver abscess in a European patient: zymodeme classification of Entamoeba histolytica.

This is a case report of a 36-year-old patient who developed an amebic liver abscess after a stay in the Sudan. He was first misdiagnosed as having pneumonia of the right lower lobe. Following establishment of the correct diagnosis, the patient recovered fully after metronidazole treatment. The fecal culture in Robinson's medium yielded extensive growth of Entamoeba histolytica. Electrophoretic characterization proved it to be a zymodeme XIX, which is one of the zymodemes associated with pathogenicity in the host. This first report of a zymodeme classification of E. histolytica in Germany should initiate further epidemiological studies.