The causative agent of amoebiasis, Entamoeba histolytica, was discovered in 1875 by F. Loesch. In 1903, the organism was studied in detail by F. Schaudinn, who differentiated two amoeba species ...

The single-celled parasite Entamoeba histolytica infects 50 million people each year, killing nearly 70,000. Usually, this wily, shape-shifting amoeba causes nothing worse than diarrhea.