Pathologie infectieuse du tube digestif : diagnostics à ne pas manquer

The recent context of COVID-19 has renewed the interest of pathologists in diseases of infectious origin. This interest is even stronger in the gastrointestinal tract where symptoms are aspecific, often frustrating with a normal endoscopic appearance sometimes leading to diagnostic erraticity. In this context, systematic biopsies performed by the clinician are sometimes the only way to reach a diagnosis. Nevertheless, the precise diagnosis of these pathologies requires a good knowledge of the context in which they occur, the histopathological aspect and a rigorous analysis using special stains and/or immunohistochemical analyses. Some infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are well known to pathologists who are widely called upon to diagnose them (Helicobacter pylori gastritis, Candida albicans oesophagitis or CMV colitis), but others are more difficult to diagnose. In this article, we will present, after having recalled the various useful special stains, rare or difficult to diagnose bacterial or parasitic pathologies “not to be missed” in the digestive tract.