Blood and Tissue Protozoa Flashcards
Plasmodium falciparum location
Species found primarily in tropics
Plasmodium vivax Cycle time
48 hours
Plasmodium vivax infects
young (enlarged) RBCs
Plasmodium vivax Schuffner’s Dots Time
8-10 hours after infection
Plasmodium vivax Mature Schizonts
12-24 merozoites
Plasmodium vivax Ring
Delicate
Plasmodium vivax location
Worldwide
Most common
Plasmodium malariae Cycle Time
72 hour cycle
Plasmodium malariae Infects
Old (normal sized) RBCs
Plasmodium malariae Stippling
No
Plasmodium malariae Mature Schizont
6-12 merozoites
Plasmodium malariae Ring
Think ring, large nucleus
Plasmodium vivax trophozoite
Very ameboid
Plasmodium malariae trophozoite
Form “bands”
Plasmodium malariae location
Africa and Phillipines
Plasmodium ovale Cycle Time
48 hours
Plasmodium ovale Infects
Young (enlarged) RBCS
Plasmodium ovale Schuffner dots
Appear in the beginning
Plasmodium ovale ring
Smaller than P. vivax
Plasmodium ovale Mature Schizonts
~8 merozoites
Plasmodium ovale Other Info
Fimbriated edges (oval) RBCs
20% need to be oval to be called ovale
Rare cause of infection
Least harmful
Plasmodium falciparum Cycle Time
36-38 hours
Plasmodium falciparum Infects
Any aged and all sizes of RBCs
Plasmodium falciparum Schuffner’s dots
None
Maurer’s Dots Instead
Plasmodium falciparum rings
Delicate rings
May have two dots
Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes
Crescent shaped
BANANA!!!
Plasmodium falciparum Other Info
30% mortality rate
Symptoms of Plasmodium
Acute or Chronic
Anemia
Splenomegaly
Jaundice
Paroxysms
Chills that last 1-2 hours followed by fever spike
Sweats and chills
Plasmodium species
P. vivax
P. falciparum
P. malariae
P. ovale
Plasmodium vivax and falciparum
Cause 95% of cases
Vector for Plasmodium species
Anopheles mosquito
Plasmodium vivax frequency
Most common
Plasmodium malariae location
Distributed sporadically
Plasmodium ovale location
Only in West Africa and South Pacific
Plasmodium knowlesi Cycle Time
24 hours
Plasmodium knowlesi Infects
Any aged and all sizes of RBCs
Plasmodium knowlesi Schuffner’s dots
None
Diagnosis of Plasmodium
Thick and Thin Smears
Plasmodium Thick Smear
Spreading drop usually on one end of glass about size of dime
Dry 6-8 hours
Wash with reagent Grade Water
Plasmodium Thin Smear
Regular blood film taken right before fever spike
Wright’s Stain
Babesia species Infects
RBCs
Babesia Early form
Contain little cytoplasm with small nucleus
Babesia species Appearance
Ring-like structures
Early form and Mature Form
Babesia Mature forms
May have two or more chromatid dots
“Maltese Cross”
Babesia Pathology
Splenectomy makes this worse as splee is necessary to remove organism
Malaise
Fever
Chills
Sweating
Fatigue
Weakness
Enlarged liver and spleen
Jaundice
Diarrhea
Babesia Diagnosis
Thick and Thin smears
Hard to find due to low numbers
May inoculate hamster or gerbil for better detection
Babesia Treatment
Manage with supportive care
May use chloroquinine phosphate
Trypanosoma gambiense common name
West African Sleeping Sickness
Trypanosoma gambiense Vector
Bite of tsetse fly
Trapnaosoma gambiense pathology
Chronic disease with CNS after several years
Trypansoma rhodiesiense common name
East African Sleeping Sickness
Trypanosoma rhodiesiense Vector
Bite of tsetse fly
Trypanosoma rhodiesiense pathology
Acute fulminating course
Rapidly fatal
MOST SEVERE FORM
Trypanosome Diagnosis
Impossible to tell the two species apart
Based on geographic locale and severity of disease
Organisms are very infections
Trypanosoma cruzi common name
Chagas disease
American trypanosomiasis
Trypanosoma cruzi Vector
Reduviid bug (kissing bug)
Trypanosoma cruzi location
Found in Brazil and South America
Trypanosoma cruzi pathology
Predilection for heart tissue
1) Inflammatory process with histiocytes
2) Fibriotic encapsulation occurs at site of infection (CHAGOMA)
3) Initial infection is often asymptomatic. May present with lesions, fever, myocarditis, etc
Three phases of Sleeping Sickness
1) Appear in blood stream
2) Carried by lymph to other parts of the body. Causes fever with swelling of cervical lymph nodes, headache, neuralgic pain, weakness, anemia, and disturbed vision
3) CNS is invaded, severe headache, mental dullness, apathy, shuffling gait, sleeping
Chronic Trypanosoma cruzi
May lead to cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure or arrhythmias
Diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi
Demonstrate leishmanial amastigote from tissue
Raise kissing bugs, bite infected, look for crithidial and leptomonad forms
Serological tests detecting antibodies
Leismaniasis tropica Vector
Sand fly bite
Leishmaniasis tropica location
Old Work
Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, and Central America
Leishmaniasis tropica Pathology
Ulceration on body surface
Lesion is self healing but produces scars
Leishmaniasis tropica Diagnosis
Swab of ulceration
Leishmania braziliensis Vector
Sand fly bite
Leishmania braziliensis location
New World
Central and South America, Mexico and Paraguay, and Northern Argentina
Leishmania braziliensis Pathology
Lives in tissue cells and likes mucus membranes around nose
Self healing ulcer that causes disfigurement of nose and ears
Leishmania braziliensis diagnosis
Look for form in monocytes
Toxoplasma gondii trophozoite
Associated with acute phase of infection
Toxoplasma gondii cysts
Found in muscle and brain
Toxoplasma gondii Pathology
Most cases are asymptomatic and benign
Range from mild to severe, chills, fever, headache, myalgia, lymphadenitis, and extreme fatigue
Toxoplasma gondii Diagnosis
Serological testing
ELISA
Pneumocystits jirovecii trophozoites
5 um
Ameboid
Pneumocystits jirovecii cysts
4-7 um
Contain 8 trophozoites
Pneumocystits jirovecii Pathology
Interstitial plasma-cell pneumonia
Pneumocystits jirovecii Diagnosis
Lung biopsies or foamy exudate in alveolar spaces
SPUTUM NOT ACCEPTED
Pneumocystits jirovecii location
Found in nature as saprophyte
Ascosporogenous fungus
Babesia species
Maltese Cross
Leishmania braziliensis
Leishmania tropica
Toxoplasma gondii
Trypanosoma African Sleeping sickness
Trypanosoma cruzi
Chaga’s disease
Pneumocystits jirovecii
