Symptomatic and asymptomatic amoebiasis in two heterosexual couples

Four cases of amoebiasis are described: two symptomatic with intestinal and hepatic involvement and two asymptomatic, diagnosed in two, heterosexual, Italian couples. Infection was probably acquired first by the men, via an i ndirect faecal-oral route, and then transmitted to their partners in the sa me way. The two amoebic strains isolated, from the woman of one couple and the man of the other, were characterized by electrophoresis as zymodemes II alpha - and XIX of Entamoeba histolytica. These four cases emphasise once more the role of cyst-passers in the spread of infection and the importance of biochemical identification of the amoebic isolates, enabling more speci fic treatment.