Introduction to Parasites Flashcards
Define a parasite.
Organism that lives in another organism (host) and gets its food at the expense of this host.
Are parasites simple organisms?
Yes
Are parasites less complex than bacteria?
No
What parasite causes the most deaths globally?
Malaria
What are the three types of protozoa?
Malaria
Amoebae
Flagellates
What are the three types of helminths?
Roundworms
Tapeworms
Flukes
What are the three types of arthropods?
Lice
Ticks
Mites
In what two ways can protozoa live?
Free-living
Parasitic
Where do protozoa multiply?
In humans
How are protozoa transmitted from humans intestine?
Faecal-oral
How are protozoa transmitted from blood or tissue of humans?
Arthropod vector
What type of disease is malaria?
Mosquito-borne.
What are three symptoms of malaria?
Fever
Chills
Flu like illness
What is the parasite involved in malaria?
Plasmodium species (4)
What parasite has the highest mortality in malaria?
Plasmodium falciparum
What type of mosquito acts as the vector?
Anopheles
What type of stained blood film is used to show infected red cells?
Giemsa
What are the two types of malaria blood films?
Thick
Thin
What are injected under the skin by mosquitos and where do they travel to?
Sporozoites
Through blood to liver
What do sporozoites do in the liver and what do they re-enter circulation as?
Mature
Merozoites
What form of parasite is taken up by the mosquito?
Sexual