Intestinal Parasites

Question 1

What is Amebiasis’ etiologic agent? Diseases it causes? and the symptoms for Acute and Chronic Amebiasis?
Life Cycle?

Answer 1

-Etiologic agent: Entamoeba histolytica
-Diseases: Amoebic dysentery and liver, lung, and brain abcesses
-Acute Symptoms: abdominal pain with frequent bloody dysentery
-Chronic Symptoms: recurrent bloody and mucoid dysentery w/ constipation; liver abcess (hepatitis), Lung abcess (pneumonia), brain abcess (encephalitis)
Life cycle: drinking contaminated water

Question 2

What separates Amebiasis from giardiasis and bacterial dysentery?

Answer 2

• mucus and blood in stool
• no granulocytosis
• no high fever

Question 3

Amebiasis prevention and treatment

Answer 3

prevention: better sewage sanitation
treatment: Iodoquinol & metronidazole

Question 4

What is Giardiasis’ (Beaver Fever) etiologic agent? Diseases it causes? and the symptoms for Acute and Chronic Giardiasis? Life cycle?

Answer 4

• Etiologic agent: Giardia lamblia
• Diseases: diarrhea, lipid and vitamin B12 malabsorption
• Acute symptoms: flatulence; foul-smelling bulky, light diarrhea; lactose intolerance
• Chronic symptoms: asymptomatic or same as acute
• Life Cycle: drinking contaminated water

Question 5

What is Giardiasis pathology and immunology?

Answer 5

Pathology: epithelium covered by trophozoites
Immunology: protective role for IgA & IgM

Question 6

What separates Giardiasis from Amebiasis and bacterial dysentery?

Answer 6

• No mucus, blood or PMN in stool
• no granulocytosis
• no fever

Question 7

Giardiasis prevention and treatment

Answer 7

• prevention: better sewage sanitation

- treatment: Iodoquinol and metronidazole

Question 8

What/Who does Balantidium coli affect? and what do symptoms compare to? Life cycle?

Answer 8

• horses, cows, pigs
• Farmer workers at risk
• Symptoms look like Amebiasis (Bloody/mucus diarrhea w/ no abcesses
• Life cycle? consuming contaminated material via animal feces

Question 9

How do you diagnose Balantidium coli?

Answer 9

-trophozoites and cysts in stool

Question 10

Balantidium coli prevention and treatment

Answer 10

• Prevention: avoid consuming contaminated material

- Treatment: Iodoquinol, metronidazole, & tetracycline

Question 11

What is Cryptosporidium parvum? treatment?

Answer 11

• major cause of epidemic diarrhea
• severe diarrhea in AIDS patients
• animal reservoir
• treatment: paromycin

Question 12

What stage does Isospora belli have 1 sporocyst? 2 sporocyst? Symptoms and treatment?

Answer 12

1 sporocyst: diagnostic stage
2 sporocyst: infective stage
Symptoms: similar to Giardiasis
Treatment: Trimethoprim & Sulphamethoxazole

Question 13

How long can Ascaris lumbricoides (Ascariasis) grow? and how is it diagnosed?

Answer 13

• 30cm

- Diagnosed: Eggs in stool

Question 14

What are the symptoms of Ascariasis? Treatment?

Answer 14

-GI: abdominal pain, distended abdomen, weight loss
-Pulmonary: coughing, wheezing, dyspnea
Treatment: Mebendazole

Question 15

What is the etiologic agent for Trichinosis? How do you acquire the bacteria? Symptoms/Diagnosis?

Answer 15

• Etiologic agent: Trichinella spiralis
• Life Cycle: consuming undercooked pork
• Symptoms/Diagnosis: increased eosinophils, creatinine phosphate, and lactate dehydrogenase levels

Question 16

What is the etiologic agent for Trichuriasis?

Answer 16

-Etiologic agent: Trichura trichuris

Question 17

What is the etiologic agent of Pinworm? Life Cycle? Symptoms? Diagnosis?

Answer 17

• Etiologic agent: Entrobius vermicularis
• Life cycle: infected child not washing hands and touching things around house
• Symptoms: perineum/vaginal irritation, insomnia, nausea
• Diagnosis: scotch tape test for eggs