Parasitic bugs/infections

Question 1

What are parasites?

Answer 1

• organism of Animalia, Protozoa kingdom

Question 2

Leishmaniasis

Answer 2

• Presentation: ulcer, with fever, anemia, and hepatosplenomegaly
• Leishmania donovani
• Sandfly vector
• comon tropic/subtropic regions.
• use serology or visualization

Question 3

Trypanosoma cruzi

Answer 3

• Chagas disease: American Trypanosomiasis
  
  • South, Central, North America
• Kissing bug feces is vector (reduviid, triatomine bug)
• Romana periorbital swelling, cardiac arrhythmias.
• blood smear for tropomsatigotes.

Question 4

Trypanosoma brucei

Answer 4

• Sleeping Sickness= African trypanosomiasis
  
  • Fulminant east Africn
  • most common West Africa
• Tsetse fly is vector
• Forms chancre.
• VSG glycoprotein gene rearrangement is virulence to avoid defenses
• Recurrent fevers with lymphadenopathy.
• Cause demyelinating panencephalitis if entering CNS

Question 5

Plasmodia

Answer 5

• Malaria: febrile hemolytic illness during merozoite release causing hemoglobinemia dn hemoglobinuria.
• Anopheles mosquito is final host (reservoir host)

Question 6

Diseases protecting against Plasmodia infection (malaria)?

Answer 6

• Sickle cell anemia
• Thalassemia
• G6PD deficiency
• RBC duffy antigen abscence

Question 7

Babesia canis/ Babesia cati

Answer 7

• Babesiosis
  
  • asymptomatic; hemolytic anemia.
  • immunocompromised leads to DIC, death.
• Common in NorthEastern US.
• Deer tick is vecotr or a blood transfusion.
• Tetrad maltese cross for diagnosis.

Question 8

Taxoplasmosis (Taxoplasma gondii)

Answer 8

• Ingestion of cysts in meat or cat feces. Flu-like symptoms. Congenital fetal abnormalities (TORCH syndrome) with fetomaternal transfer.
• Definitive (primary) host is cat.

Question 9

Echinococcosis (Echinococcus spp)

Answer 9

• Formation of cysts within numerous organs (liver, lungs, CNS) in incidental host.
• Dogs provide the cystic hydatid disease.

Question 10

Onchocerciasis (Onchocerca colculus)

Answer 10

• Common in tropical climates leading to river blindness, and cutaneous nodules with maturation and reproduction.
• Introduced via blackfly
• slit lamp examination for ocular parasites

Question 11

African eyeworm (Loa loa)

Answer 11

• Loiasis: itching, localized skin swelling, joint pain, renal failure, ocular problems, and occluded lymphatics.
• Transmitted via deer flies and high travel rate to lungs.
• Midday blood smear

Question 12

Dirofilariasis (Dirofilaria immitis)

Answer 12

• Dirofilariasis: cutaneous granuloma, pulmonary granuloma.
• Humans are incidental host of infected mosquito.
• Biopsy skin/lung granuloma and detect organism.

Question 13

Lymphatic filariasis (Wuchereria bancrofti, B. malayis, B. timori)

Answer 13

• Lymphatic filariasis: lymphadenitis, pulmonary tropical eosinophilia, lymphedema (elephatntiasis)
• Mosquito bite introduce pathogen; adults migrate to lymphatics.
• Perform nocturnal blood smear.
  
  • W.bancrofti most common in tropical regions worldwide.

Question 14

Trichinosis/Trichinellosis (Trichinella spiralis)

Answer 14

• Trichinellosis: GI symptoms with muscle pain, facial edema, cough.
• Ingestion of larvae in undercooked wild game meat.
• Humans are incidental hosts.

Question 15

Darcunculiasis (Dracunculus medinensis)

Answer 15

• Drancunculiasis: Guinea worm disease, with diarrhea, boils with severe burning pain where it exits the skin.
• Ingestion of water infected with copepods (water fleas)
• larvae penetrate stomach and enter other areas.

Question 16

Cutaneous larva migrans (Ancylostoma branzilliense)

Answer 16

• Cutaneous larva migrans: zoonotic hookworm (humans are incidental hosts) present in inflamed worm tunnels in the skin.
• Contained in cat/god feces.

Question 17

Toxocariasis (Toxocara canis/ Toxocara cati)

Answer 17

• Ocular larva migrate to the eye and cause retinal damage. Visceral larva travel to induce systemic cough, fever, abd pain.
• Humans= incidental host from ingesting eggs in cats/dogs or undercooked meat