The source of infection is sick amoebiasis and cystocarriers , which are capable of long-term (years) excreting amoeba cysts with feces into the environment. Cystonosia and convalescents after intestinal amoebiasis can produce about 500 million cysts per day. Carriers of cysts remain about 10% of people who have had acute amoebiasis. Patients with acute amoebiasis, which secrete mainly vegetative forms of the pathogen, are not epidemiologically dangerous.
The transmission mechanism is fecal-oral. Most often, transmission factors are water, various food products, especially those that are not subjected to preliminary heat treatment. Cysts can be transmitted by contact and household from patients, cystonosi – through dirty hands, common objects, linen, kitchen utensils, toys and other things, as well as through flies and cockroaches, which not only mechanically carry cysts, but also excrete them with feces .
Susceptibility to amoebiasis is relatively high. Persons of all ages are affected, but the greatest incidence is observed among men 20-50 years old. There is a slight increase in the incidence in the summer-autumn period due to an increase in the possibility of transmission of the pathogen by the fecal-oral route, as well as the addition of bacterial dysentery and other intestinal infections (amoebiasis-mixed) during this period. More often, amoebiasis is observed in the form of sporadic cases, although epidemic outbreaks are possible, especially in closed groups.
After a disease, immunity is unstable.
Amoebiasis is recorded on all continents. In Ukraine, sporadic cases of amoebiasis are recorded.