Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Management of Infection > Lecture 3C - Protozoa > Flashcards

Lecture 3C - Protozoa Flashcards

1
Q

How can protozoan infections be transmitted?

A

they can be ingested or transmitted by blood infusion, enter through wounds and be injected by ectoparasite vectors such as mosquitos

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are protozoa?

A

single cell eukaryotic cells with a membrane bound nucleus, cellular organelles and a surrounding cell membrane

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How can protozoa reproduce?

A

asexually and rapidly to grow in very large numbers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What can protozoal parasites invade?

A

cells such as red blood cells, so as to hide from the immune system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What to protozoa use the nutrient pathway for?

A

to fuel their own growth and division

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

How do protozoa evade the immune system?

A

they often change their surface coats at a rapid rate so that the immune system is faced with trying to hit a moving target

finding constant regions of surface proteins to target with a vaccine is very challenging

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Examples of water borne protozoa?

A

Giardia lamblia (500x10^6 infections), cryptosporidium, entamoeba histolytica (0.5x10^6), trichomonas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

E. histolytica?

A

amoebic dysentery, also forms abscesses in the brain, liver and lung

can cause ulceration of the gut wall and if this results in gut wall perforation it can be life threatening

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Trichomonas?

A

WB

(180x10^6)

infects the urogenital tract, causes vaginitis in women

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What do water borne protozoa cause?

A

they infect the gut and cause severe diarrhoea and bloody stools

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are common vectors for protozoal infections?

A

insects

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What are protozoal infections a major cause of?

A

disability, illness and death

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Trypanosoma?

A

INSECT BORNE

causes sleeping sickness (T.brucei gambiense, Africa)

extracellular in blood first, then CNS or heart depending on species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Leishmania?

A

INSECT BORNE

sand fly
intracellular macrophages

skin sores, swelling of liver and spleen, low white cell count (lysis), can be fatal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Toxoplasmosis?

A

INSECT BORNE

cat faeces are a major source of infection

widespread infection in humans

can cause foetal damage and some suspected linkage to schizophrenia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Plasmodium?

A

INSECT BORNE

cause of malaria, intracellular

causes fever and can be fatal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

How many cases of malaria were there worldwide in 2017?

A

219x10^6

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are insect borne protozoa?

A

the insect is the vector of the disease and injects the protozoan when it comes in for a blood meal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What can ticks transmit?

A

lyme disease, typhus, encephalitis

need to be removed with tweezers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What can fleas transmit?

A

typhus and plague

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What can sandfly transmit?

A

leishmania

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What can the tsetse fly transmit?

A

sleeping sickness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What can the reduvid bug transmit?

A

chagas disease

24
Q

What can the simulum fly transmit?

A

onchocerciasis

25
What % of insects were found to be infected with malarial parasites?
5% | from one study
26
What precautions should be taken in a malarious area?
bed nets, long sleeved clothing and covering legs, insect repellants, avoiding situations where biting is more likely
27
What else can mosquitos transmit?
dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, elephantiasis
28
What is malaria?
a potentially fatal protozoal infection, carried by mosquitoes
29
Untreated malaria results in?
cyclic fever, chills the destruction of red blood cells and sometimes the blockage of cerebral blood vessels some forms can be fatal
30
Where is 90% of the malaria disease burden?
in the tropics
31
What can affect the malarial disease range?
travel, military activity and the greenhouse effect
32
How many people are at risk of malaria?
2-2.5 billion (40% of world population in 100 countries)
33
How many cases of acute malaria are there annually?
300,000,000
34
How many deaths does malaria cause annually?
1.5-3 million
35
In Africa, what does malaria cause?
1/4 of all deaths in children under 5, this makes up 1/3 of all hospital admissions
36
How many malarial deaths are in children?
70% of the deaths this is because they have a small blood volume and cannot cope with large infections of RBCs they also have immature immune systems
37
How are malarial sporozoites injected?
from the salivary gland of the female mosquito into the human tissue when it bites into the skin for a blood meal
38
Why do male mosquitos not transmit malaria?
they are vegetarian
39
Where are the two main phases of the plasmodium life cycle?
one in humans and the other in insects
40
When the mosquito bites, where do the injected sporozoites go?
rapidly make their way to the liver
41
What do sporozoites occupy?
a sinusoid of the liver and there they rapidly multiply
42
What other form can sporozoites take in the liver?
they may enter a dormant, hypnozoite phase which can erupt months later depends on the species
43
What happens when the sporozoite has multiplied up to 1000 fold in the liver?
the infected liver bursts and the merozoite form is released into the bloodstream
44
In the blood stream, where does the merozoite form go?
into red blood cells where they can mature, multiply and eventually burst the red blood cell
45
What happens when the infected red blood cell bursts?
it releases more infectious merozoites and fever stimulating granules of digested haemoglobin
46
What are signs of malaria?
fever and anaemia anaemia due to loss of red blood cells
47
What is plasmodium falciparum
the most common and most dangerous form of malaria as it can cause cerebral malaria
48
Life cycle of plasmodium falciparum?
appears in blood 5.5 days after initial infection has a 48 hour life cycle and malignant tertian (3 days) appearance of fever and can be fatal
49
How long can blood donors be infective with plasmodium falciparum?
5 years
50
What plasmodium species do NOT have a hyponozoite (dormant) phase?
plasmodium falciparum and plasmodium malariae
51
Plasmodium malariae?
emerges into the blood 15 days after infection 72 hour cycle benign quartan fever (erupting every 4 days) less common blood donors may be infective for years
52
Plasmodium ovale?
widespread species, benign tertian malaria blood donors infective for 7 years
53
Plasmodium vivax?
more rare benign tertian form of malaria blood donors infective for 5 years
54
What plasmodium species HAVE a hypnozoite stage?
plasmodium ovale and plasmodium vivax
55
Plasmodium knowlesi?
has a localised prevalence in some parts of south east asia

Management of Infection (36 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions