A vaccine may soon be available for protection against colitis caused by an amoeba that kills and eats human cells, according to researchers at the University of Virginia Health System (UVa).

Entamoeba histolytica kills nearly 100,000 people worldwide each year by causing colitis, or inflammation of the colon. The parasite kills and devours immune cells in seconds

University of Virginia Health System researchers are confident that they have found a way to stop one a parasite that kills nearly 100,000 people around the world every year. The parasite does its work by attacking and killing human immune cells in a matter of seconds.

Entamoeba histolytica causes inflammation of the colon (colitis). After this amoeba has killed a person's immune cells it hides the evidence of its invasion by eating the cells' corpses, researchers say