Protozoans Flashcards
Describe Giardia sp.
- Direct lifecycle
- Hosts: mammals, birds, amphibians
- Giardia duodenalis- assemblages
What are these?
Left = cyst
Right - Trophozoite
How do cysts differ from trophozoites?
Describe the Giardia lifecycle
Describe the clinical signs and pathogenicity of Giardiasis
- Usually no clinical signs
- If any:
- Attachment of trophs:
- blunting of intestinal villi - malabsorption, diarrhea
- damage enterocytes
- Attachment of trophs:
How do you diagnose Giardia?
- Fecal exam
- ELISA - always back up!
How do you treat Giardia duodenalis?
- None approved
- Dogs: Febantel, pyrantel, praziquantel, Fenbendazole +/- metronidazole
- if they are asymptomatic, treatment may not be necessary if you treat only once
How do you control Giardiasis?
- Bathe animals
- removal of feces
- difficult - resistant cysts
Describe Tritrichomonas blagburni
- Avg. 15 x 9 um (SUPER teeny)
- Pseudocysts
- Longitudinal binary fission
Describe feline trichomoniasis
-
Large bowel disease
- chronic diarrhea (blood +/- mucus), tenesmus, flatulence, irritated anus, fecal incontinence
- diarrhea can last weeks/months/YEARS
- avg. Age of onset = 9 mo.
- Transmission: fecal-oral route, survival outside of host
How do you diagnose feline trichomoniasis?
- Direct fecal smear
- Culture
- PCR
- Colonic biopsy
How do you treat and control Tritrichomonas?
- No approved treatment
- Ronidazole
- Metronidazole or tinidazole
- Keep infected cats away from other cats
- Do not allow litter box sharing
What are each of these?
What are 2 non-pathogenic Trichomonads?
- Pentatrichomonas hominis
- cecum and colon of mammals (dogs)
- Tritrichomonas canistomae: T. Felistomae
- mouths of dogs and cats
Describe Trypanosoma cruzi
- Parasites of vertebrates - blood and tissues
- majority transmitted by blood feeding arthropods
- most not pathogenic
- vector = Reduviid bug
What are the hosts of T. Cruzi?
- American Trypanosomiasis: dogs, cats, opossums, raccoons, armadillos
- Chagas disease: humans
What are the two life stages of Trypanosoma cruzi?
Left - Trypomastigote (subterminal kinetoplast)
Right - Amastigote
Describe the life cycle of T. cruzi
What is this?
Amastigotes clustered in a pseudocyst
Describe the clinical presentation of American Trypanosomiasis in dogs
- Acute stage: trypomastigotes in circulating blood
- fever, anorexia, lethargy, diarrhea
- Chronic stage: no longer circulating
- CHF, DCM, arrhythmias, lethargy, resp difficulties, hepatomegaly, anemia
- sudden death
Sporting/working dogs over-represented
How do you diagnose Trypanosoma cruzi?
- Serological testing
- TESA blot/Western blot (trypomastigote Ag)
- ELISA
- IFA
- Cross smear
- Xenodiagnosis
How do you treat Trypanosoma cruzi?
Most experimental
- Low efficacy vs. chronic disease
- Treat over 2-3 months
- Benznidazole - acute dz
- Ravuconazole - parasitemia suppressed; no cure
Cystoisospora and Eimeria are monoxenous…what does that mean?
parasitize one host (DH)
What is the difference between Cystoisospora and Eimeria?
What are the 4 species of Cystoisospora in dogs?
What are the 2 types of Cystoisospora in cats?
C. Felis and C. Rivolta
Describe the life cycle of Isospora sp.
What is the clinical presentation of a Cystoisospora infection?
- Occasional diarrhea, death
- enteritis, colitis, weight loss, dehydration
- not zoonotic
How do you control Cystoisospora?
- Kennel sanitation, prompt feces removal
- disinfectants with high ammonia concentrations
- steam/heat
- treat all animals
How do you treat Cocciodiosis?
- Sulfadimethoxine
- Furazolidone
- Ponazuril
True or False: Eimeria is not a true parasite of the dog or cat
True - it’s a spurious parasite acquired by dogs and cats via predation or coprophagy