Protozoan Parasites:The Ciliates

Question 1

Balantidium coli

   * Balantidium coli trophozoite
   * Balantidium coli cyst

Answer 1

disease: Balantidiasis
symptoms: Profuse diarrhea, rapid weight loss, bloody stools , gas,cramps,nausea

Question 2

Plasmodium species

  * Plasmodium vivax
  * Plasmodium ovale
  * Plasmodium malariae
  * Plasmodium falciparum

Answer 2

disease: Malaria
symptoms: First malaise,myalgia,headache,and loss of appetite,followed by intense cold, followed by fever with mild delirium that may last several hours. Copious perspiration then cools body. Entire attack is over in 8-12 hours. Heart attack and stroke are possible due to vessels blockage. Complications of estivoautumnal form include pulmonary edema, cerebral malaria (108F fever,coma,death),blackwater fever,and renal failure.

Question 3

Babesia species

Answer 3

disease: Babesiosis
symptoms: severe anemia, fatique ,depression, piercing headaches,nausea, meningitis occasionally

Question 4

Toxoplasma gondii

Answer 4

disease: Toxoplasmosis
symptoms: Intestinal phase yields no symptoms; acute phase includes swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, myalgia, anemia, and possibly lung congestion; chronic phase symptoms depend on where cysts are located and the severity of the inflammatory response. Cysts in brain may cause chronic encephalitis with possible spastic paralysis, cysts in retina lead to loss of vision and eventual blindness, cysts in hart cause myocarditis and permanent heart damage, cysts in lungs cause pneumonia. These chronic phase symptoms can take years to develop. In congenital toxoplasmosis, 9% of infected fetuses die, and 30% suffer severe damage, including hydrocephaly, retardation, and blindness.