The effect of electromagnetic waves on the growth of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of electromagnetic radiation of a digital Global System for Mobile Communication mobile telephone (900 MHz) on Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) and Entamoeba dispar (E. dispar) (cysts or trophozoites, or both) in a 24-hour period.

METHODS: This study was carried out from April 2004 to May 2004 at the Department of Parasitology, Medical Faculty of Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, Turkey. The cultivated isolate tubes, which were exposed to electromagnetic field at 37OC, were evaluated as study group, whereas the tubes without exposure were assessed as control group. Finally, only living parasites in all tubes were counted using a hemacytometer. The effect of the temperature was evaluated for both control and study groups.

RESULTS: The influence of electromagnetic field and temperature was assessed separately for the study group. The parasite number of E. histolytica decreased after exposure at 37OC and room temperature (p=0.009) compared to the decrease in the control group (p=0.009). The parasite number of E. dispar also decreased after exposure at 37OC and room temperature (p=0.009). In comparison to control tubes, this was a significant decrease (p=0.008). In the case of exposure of E. histolytica the results did not reveal any significant difference between temperature degrees to magnetic field (p=0.459) and E. dispar (p=0.172).

CONCLUSION: Our findings show that exposure to electromagnetic field for a certain period of time may cause damage that can lead to death in single-cell organisms.