Introduction to Parasites Flashcards
Define parasites
A parasite is an organism that lives in another organism (host) and gets its food at the expense of this host, cannot live independently
Name the different groups of parasites
Protozoa e.g. malaria, leishmaniasis, amoebic dysentery
Helminths e.g. nematodes and trematodes
Arthropods e.g. lice, ticks, mites
What is a protozoa?
Protozoa are a diverse group of unicellular eukaryotic organisms. Historically, protozoa were defined as single-celled organisms with animal-like behaviors, such as motility and predation.
Name some examples of disease caused by protozoa
Malaria - plasmodium species
Amoebic dysentery - Entamoeba Hystolytica
Leishmaniasis - Leishmania species
Describe the life cycle of plasmodium species
- Plasmodium species, with mosquito vector.
- Sporozoites are injected under the skin the mosquito
- They travel through to blood to the liver where they mature
- They then re-enter circulation as merozoites
- These invade and destroy RBC’s using them to multiply
- Sexual forms are taken up by mosquito
Describe malaria
- Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite.
- Patient often experience fever, chills, and flu-like illness
- Left untreated, they may develop severe complications and die
What tests are used to diagnose malaria?
- Giemsa stained blood film shows infected red cells (parasitaemia – in bloodstream)
- Thick and thin blood films
- Variety of rapid diagnostic tests e.g. antigen tests, PCR, urine and saliva tests
Why do we use both thin and thick blood films when diagnosing malaria?
o Thin films are similar to usual blood films and allow species identification, because the parasite’s appearance is best preserved in this preparation.
o Thick films allow the microscopist to screen a larger volume of blood and are about eleven times more sensitive than the thin film, so picking up low levels of infection is easier on the thick film, but the appearance of the parasite is much more distorted and therefore distinguishing between the different species can be much more difficult.
Which species of plasmodium is the most deadly?
Plasmodium falciparum
What is the vector of plasmodium species?
Mosquito vector (Anopheles mosquito) - females
How can we prevent the contraction and spread of malaria?
- Insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs)
- Prophylaxis e.g. anti-malarial tablets
- Malaria Vaccine in research
What is amoebic dysentery?
Diarrhoea with blood/pus
Entamoeba histolytica
Intestinal and extra intestinal infections
Liver abscess in later disease
What causes amoebic dysentery?
Entamoeba histolytica (protozoa)
What causes malaria?
Plasmodium species (protozoa)
How do you diagnose amoebic dysentery?
Microscopy: Cysts in formed stool
How is amoebic dysentery transmitted?
Amoebic dysentery is transmitted through contaminated food and water. Amoebae spread by forming infective cysts which can be found in stools, and spread if whoever touches them does not sanitize their hands. There are also free amoebae, or trophozoites, that do not form cysts, however trophozoites do not survive long outside the human gastrointestinal tract and are a purely diagnostic observation.
Describe Leishmaniasis
• Cutaneous or mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis
o Skin or mucosal ulceration
• Visceral Leishmaniasis (kala-azar)
o Fever, weight loss and hepato-splenomegaly
• Infection by bite of sandflies
How do people contract leishmaniasis?
Infected by bite of sand fly infected by Leishamania species
How do you diagnose leishmaniasis?
Diagnosis by histology of biopsy material
What are helminths?
Helminths, also commonly known as parasitic worms, are large multicellular organisms, which when mature can generally be seen with the naked eye. They are often referred to as intestinal worms even though not all helminths reside in the intestines; for example schistosomes are not intestinal worms, but rather reside in blood vessels.
What are the different classes of helminth?
Nematodes - round worms
Cestodes - tapeworms
Trematodes - flat worms, flukes
