Parasitology Lab 1 Flashcards
Angiostrongylus cantonensis Life cycle (rat)
Adult worms in pulmonary arteries of rats. Females lay eggs which mature to L1 larvae which migrate to pharynx, swallowed and passed in faeces. L1 larvae penetrate or ingested by intermediate hosts (snail or slug) -> mature to L3 infective larvae. Intermediate hosts may be eaten by paratenic (transport) hosts in which L3 survive but do not develop (shrimp, prawns, mussels, crabs, frogs, lizards) - if the intermediate or paratenic host is eaten by a rat, L3 migrate to the subarachnoid space in the brain and develop into young adults. Young adults return to the venous system and sit in the pulmonary arteries where they sexually mature
Angiostrongylus cantonensis Life cycle (human)
Humans acquire infection by eating raw or undercooked snails or slugs, undercooked paratenic hosts (raw shrimp, prawns, mussels, crabs, frogs, lizards), or salads and other leafy vegetables containing a small snail or slug (or L3 released in snail slime) - in humans the larvae (~2mm) migrate to the brain, lungs or the eye, where they ultimately die
Anisakis Life cycle (human)
Humans ingest infected raw fish or squid, L3 persist
Anisakis Life cycle (fish)
Adult worms in gut of marine mammals (seals, dolphins) -> eggs in faeces -> L1 -> L2 ingested by intermediate host (marine crustaceans) -> L3 infective larvae. Fish and squid eat crustaceans and L3s move to the body cavity and tissue (paratenic hosts), larger fish also become apratenic hosts
Ascaris lumbricoides Life cycle (human)
Human ingest eggs from environment, egg hatches in duodenum releasing L1 larvae mature to L3 larvae which penetrate intestinal wall into blood and lymphatic circulation. Larvae migrate to lung, break through alveoli, crawl up trachea, swallow into stomach, migrate to large intestine and mature into adult worms. Adult female worm creates eggs, larvae form within fertilised egg ready for ingestion. Adult worm may produce 200,000 eggs per day - thick outer layer of egg resistant to desiccation (not infective to human immediately)
Ascaris lumbricoides Life cycle (environment)
Unembryonated egg in soil embryonates to L2/L3 infective stage, eggs are very resistant to desiccation and can survive 8y in the environment. Human ingests embryonated egg
Ascaris lumbricoides Worm
15-40cm, male posterior tightly curled
Ascaris lumbricoides Egg
45-75x30-50um fertile corticated thick double wall with nobby structure, fertile decorticated egg have started to lose nobbliness. Infertile eggs occur because male cannot keep up with fertilising them, these are much darker, very nobbly and cannot see anything inside, tend to be more elongated - all of these eggs are diagnostic of an active infection
Balantioides coli Microscopy cysts
Round, 50-60um (large), dark iodophilic
Blastocystis Microscopy cysts
Round 5-13um shiny peripheral bodies
Capillaria philippinensis Life cycle (human)
Ingestion of raw or undercooked fish containing larvae. In the intestine some female worms may produce larvae that can reinvade the intestinal mucosa, resulting in internal autoinfection
Capillaria philippinensis Life cycle (birds)
Birds will have worms in their gut, eggs passed out of faeces of birds into water hatch into larvae, fish eat the larvae.
Capillaria philippinensis Egg
40x20um egg similar to T trichura but less of a cap on the operculum
Chilomastix mesnili Microscopy cysts
Lemon shaped, 7-10um, single nucleus, axonene
Cryptosporidium Microscopy cysts
5um (exactly) not usually seen on iodine, best seen on ZN bright cherry red, auramine, iodine
Cryptosporidium Lifecycle (human)
Human ingest thick-walled oocyst, small bowel oocyst releases sporozoite infects lumen, matures to trophozoite, asexual to meront or sexual to merozoite to gametes to zygote to oocyst if thin-walled (20%)- autoinfection cycle and thick-walled (80%) exits host ready to infect another human (oocyst > sporozoite > troph > meront > merozoite > gamete > oocyst)
Cyclospora catetanensis Life cycle (human)
Human ingest sporulated oocyst, small bowel excyst and release of sporocyst, sporozoite invasion of epithelium, asexual reproduction merozoite, then sexual reproduction gametocytes to zygote to faeces release of unsporulated oocyst
Cyclospora catetanensis Life cycle (environment)
Unsporulated oocyst, sporulates in the environment, ready for human ingestion in contaminated food/water
Cyclospora catetanensis Microscopy cysts
Round 8-10um, ZN variable stain with classic ‘ghost’, iodine classic ‘refractile’ wall (does not take up iodine) may see 2 sporocysts within
Cystoisospora belli Microscopy cysts
Oval, large 25-33um, may contain two sporocysts (often not visible), ZN stain
Diphyllobothrium latum Life cycle
Humans ingest raw or undercooked fish containing cysts, produces adult worms in human. Human pass eggs in faeces - larvae escape and infect cyclops, cyclops eaten by fresh water fish, procercoid develops into plerocercoid in fish ready for human to ingest
Dracunculis medinensis (Guinea worm) Life cycle (human)
Human ingest infected copepod, male and female larvae, reproduce, male dies. Female burrows through stomach, migrates to skin, penetrates through skin to deposit eggs in stagnant water
Dracunculis medinensis (Guinea worm) Life cycle (environment)
Eggs in stagnant water are consumed by copepod - need 14d in water, then 14d in copepod to become infective
Dracunculis medinensis (Guinea worm) Worm
60cm nematode
E histolytica/dispar Life cycle (human)
Ingestion of cyst from contaminated food or water -> excyst in stomach -> trophozoites in intestine -> cyst in faeces
E histolytica/dispar Microscopy
Round, 10-15um 1-4 ring dot nuclei. Cyst in faeces. Trophozoites last <2h in faeces (need to examine hot stool). Histo - look along edges of lumen for breaks in mucosal surface (ulcer), look beyond the necrosis, WBC = blue dots, flask shaped ulcer (small at top, broad underlying base), amoeba are found on leading edge (they will not be within the necrotic tissue (they’re finished with it) but will be heading into healthy tissue) - look for blue bodies (trophozoite) which may be foamy/vacuolated (containing RBC) - Trophozoites only have one ring and dot nucleus
Echinococcus granulosus Life cycle (human)
Human ingest egg, dead end host so hydatid cysts produced in liver, lungs, brain not transmissible. Egg hatch to produce oncospheres that invade through duodenum to the portal vein of the liver, grows out to establish cyst - membrane produces protoscolices floating in the cyst fluid, cyst can produce daughter cyst, displaces rather than invades tissue. If cysts rupture, the liberated protoscolices may create secondary cysts in other sites within the body
Echinococcus granulosus Life cycle (dog)
Dog ingests organs of sheep, cow, pig etc infected with hydatid cysts, adult worm in small intestine of dog, eggs passed in faeces
Echinococcus granulosus Egg
30-35um radially striated
Echinococcus granulosus Worm
4 suckers, 30-36 hooks. 3-8mm long with head and 3 segments
Echinococcus multilocularis Life cycle
Human ingest egg
Echinococcus multilocularis Life cycle (animal)
Rodent ingests egg, develops into larvae, rodent eaten by definitive host dog/cat > adult worm in gut of carnivore -> proglottid excreted in faeces contains egg -> egg ingested by intermediate host
Endolimax nana Microscopy cysts
Round-oval, 7-10um, 4 limax nuclei - black to bright to blink ‘wink’ as focus up and down
Entamoeba coli Microscopy cysts
Round, 15-30um, ~8 ring-dot nuclei (nuclei get smaller as they divide)
Entamoeba hartmanii Microscopy cysts
Round, 7-10um 1 ring-dot nucleus, paler (iodophobic)
Enterobius vermicularis Life cycle
Human ingests embryonated egg, egg hatches in small intestine, larvae move to large intestine. Over time (month) larvae mature to adult worms, accumulate in first part of large intestine (appendix/caecum) and mate. Female will migrate to anus and deposit eggs on skin around anus at night. Pruritis scratching -> contamination of hands -> spreading and ingestion of eggs
Enterobius vermicularis Worm
1-2mm Lateral alae - ridges that run down the side of the nematode (only Enterobius adults will have these in cross-section).
Giardia intestinalis Microscopy cysts
Oval, 8-12um, axonene line, comma-shaped median body, 4 nuclei
Gnathostoma Life cycle (human)
L3 larvae ingested by humans, migrate around body
Gnathostoma Life cycle
Adult worms 2-3cm in stomach of carnivores (wild and domestic). Female releases eggs, hatch in water, L1 infects copepod (1st intermediate host) L1 -> L2, copepod eaten by fish or frog (2nd intermediate host) L2-> L3, bigger fish, snakes birds can be paratenic hosts, if 2nd or paratenic hosts are eaten by cats or dogs L3 larvae mature to adults
Helminths Lifecycle (feature)
All helminths pass through a series of developmental stages to complete their life cycle. If a parasite requires only one host to complete its life cycle the life cycle is ‘direct’ if it requires two or more it is ‘indirect’. The host harbouring the sexually mature adult worm is called the ‘definitive’ host, the host harbouring the larval stages is called the ‘intermediate’ host
Helminths Intestinal Transmission
Egg in soil (ingest): Trichuris trichura, Ascaris lumbricoides. Larvae in soil (penetrate): Hook worm & Strongyloides. Egg without soil: Enterobius vermicularis
Helminths Zoonotic Development
Develop fully in humans: Trichinella spp, Capillaria philippinensis. Arrest at larval stage: Toxocara canis, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Anisakis, Gnathostoma spinigerum
Histopathology Liver
Malaria, Leishmania, Echinococcus
Histopathology Skin
Leishmania