• Home
  • Stock Cultures
  • Eukayotes
    • Helminths
    • Protozoa
    • Arthropoda
  • Lab Practical
  • About Me
  • Contact
   

Protozoa of medical importance

How are parasites classified? 

1)  Multicellular 

2) Unicellular

3) Ectoparasites

What is a protozoan?
Unicellular organism that is a chemoorganoheterotroph, often further classified based on its mode of motility or lack there of.  
Mode of motility
  1. Cilia
  2. Flagella
  3. Pseudopodia
**Some protozoa do not have a means of locomotion, therefore, are highly parasitic.
Picture
Entamoeba histolytica
Mode of transmission: Cycts enter the body through contaminated food or water, fecal-oral route.

​Disease: amebic dysentery

Picture
Naegleria fowleri
Mode of transmission: water containing Naegleria fowleri enters the nose, usually while swimming

Disease: primary amebic meningoencephalitis

Picture
​Trypanosoma brucei 
Note the two sub species; T. b gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense
Mode of transmission: Vector born transmission, tsetse fly. 

Disease: trypanasomiasis, African sleeping sickness

Picture
Trypanosoma cruzi
Mode of transmission: vector born transmission, Triatome ("Kissing") bug.

Disease: trypanosomiasis, chagas disease 
Picture
Giardia lamblia
Mode of transmission: fecal contaminated water or food is ingested. Person to person transmission occurs under poor hygiene, fecal oral route. 

​Disease: giardiasis, beaver fever 
Picture
Trichomonas vaginalis 
Mode of transmission: sexually transmitted disease. 

Disease: trichomoniasis, strawberry cervix 



Picture
Balantidium coli
Mode of transmission: eating and drinking contaminated food and water that has come into contact with infective animal or human fecal matter, fecal oral route. 

Disease: balantidiasis 

Picture
Cryptosporidium parvum **

Mode of transmission: Transmitted through the fecal-oral route, direct contact with infected humans or animals, contaminated food or water and aerosols.

​Disease: Cryptosporidiosis
Picture
​Toxoplasma gondii
Mode of transmission: Primarily affects cats; eating infected rodents, birds, or other small animals. The parasite is then passed in the cat's feces in an oocyst form, then can affect humans through inhalation of the oocyst. Most importantly T. gondii can infect pregnant women and terminate the fetus. 

Disease: toxoplasmosis


Picture
Plasmodium falciparum**,
Plasmodium vivax**

Mode of transmission: vector born disease, Anopheles spp. 

Disease: malaria 
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Stock Cultures
  • Eukayotes
    • Helminths
    • Protozoa
    • Arthropoda
  • Lab Practical
  • About Me
  • Contact