Parasites

Question 1

parasite

Answer 1

is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets it food from or at the expense of its host

Question 2

Three types of parasites:

Answer 2

Protozoa, helminths, ectoparasites

Question 3

Protozoa

Answer 3

One celled organism, like bateria

But they are bigger than bacteria and more similar to plant and animal cells. Found in polluted waters, soil, moss

Spread: by fleas or mosquitos who are infected with parasite. Can be spread by contacting infected fecal matter

Question 4

How is Malaria spread and how long does it take for symptoms to appear?

Answer 4

Mosquitoes (called a vector) spread the parasite to people when they bite them
Appear within 7-30 days but can take up to one year to develop

Question 5

What are the worst case scenario symptoms? Malaria

Answer 5

High fever chills
Organ failure, convulsions and the collapse of the circulatory system may occur

Question 6

Malaria, Who are the most vulnerable groups?

Answer 6

young children, pregnant women, travelers, migrants or displaced populations who lack immunity

Question 7

What countries does malaria typically occur?

Answer 7

South america
South asia
Tropical areas
Sub saharan

Question 8

helminths

Answer 8

Helminths are large, multicellular organisms that are generally visible to the naked eye in their adult stages.
In their adult form, helminths cannot multiply in humans.

Question 9

Tapeworms

Answer 9

Parasite that can live and feed in human intestines.

Question 10

Risk factor of tapeworms

Answer 10

Eating raw or undercooked meat and fish. Dried and smoked fish also may have larval cysts in them

Question 11

Pinworms

Answer 11

live in the large intestine of humans. They are about one-half inch long.

Question 12

What happens when the infected person is sleeping? (Pinworms)

Answer 12

While the person sleeps, female pinworms leave the intestinal tract and lays their eggs on the skin around the anus

The eggs are laid in a sticky, jelly like substance that along with the wriggling of the female pinworm, causes severe itching

Question 13

How are pinworms spread?

Answer 13

When an infected person, most often a child, has scratched his/her bare anal area and the eggs get under his/her fingernails. Pinworms can then be spread to various things

Question 14

Ectoparasites

Answer 14

Ectoparasites are parasites that usually infect only the superficial layers of the skin.

They include ticks, fleas, scabies, lice, bed bugs and mites that attach or burrow into the skin and remain there for long periods of time (they live in eyelashes)

Question 15

Ticks

Answer 15

Ticks can cause lyme disease which is actually caused by a bacteria that the tick carries.
If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system

Question 16

Lice

Answer 16

Lice are tiny, wingless insects that feed on human blood. Lice spread from person to person through close contact and by sharing belongings.

Question 17

Head lice

Answer 17

found on the scalp

Question 18

Body lice:

Answer 18

hat live in clothing and bedding and move onto the skin to fed. Body lice most often affect people who aren’t able to bathe or wash clothing often, such as homeless people

Question 19

Pubic lice

Answer 19

also called crabs, that occur on the skin and hair on the pubic area

Question 20

Scabies

Answer 20

An infestation of the skin by a mite. The microscopic scabies mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs.
Symptoms:
Intense itching and a pimple like skin rash

Question 21

What is the parasite that is most likely to cause malaria

Answer 21

plasmodium falciparum