First Aid for Your Gut

What exactly is Dientamoeba fragilis?

Despite its name, Dientamoeba fragilis isn't an amoeba but a flagellate: a single-celled parasite that lives in your large intestine. It's so small you'll never see it yourself; only targeted laboratory testing can detect it. It's estimated that more than a third of people with chronic gut symptoms carry it, which makes it one of the most common harmful gut parasites. What makes it tricky is that it has no cyst form.

How to detect a gut parasite?

In our practice, a parasite often turns out to be the missing piece in cases no one could explain. You can detect a parasite with a stool test. The most reliable method these days is the qPCR test, where the laboratory looks for the parasite's DNA. That method is a good deal more accurate than the older Triple Feces Test, which is now outdated. A good stool test looks further than Dientamoeba fragilis alone.