CLINICAL PARASITOLOGY

LECTURE \ SECOND SEMESTER - MIDTERM

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO PARASITOLOGY

⤷ incidental/accidental - in a diff. host

OUTLINE
instead of expected host (e.g. D. Caninum
I. Introduction to Parasitology
parasite in dogs found in human
A. What are Parasites?
intestine)
B. Biological Relationships
⤷ erratic - in other location/unexpected
C. Types of Parasite
areas [e.g. ascaris lumbricoides (pinaka uod
1. According to Habitat
sa lahat ng uod): goes to the brain]
2. According to Duration in/on Host
- Ectoparasite = outside/surface the body/host
3. According to Degree of Parasitism
(condition/result = infestation)
II. Parasitism
2. According to DURATION in/on host
A. Types of Host
- Permanent = those that stay in that host
B. Exposure & Infection
their WHOLE life, will NEVER leave their host
C. Parasitic Life Cycle
& will complete life cycle there (e.g. head
III. Epidemiologic Measures
louse, helminths)
A. Transmission
- Temporary = lives a free life during a part of
B. Diagnosis
the cycle, visits the host from time to time
C. Treatment
- Sporadic = (aka periodic) short visits to host
D. Prevention & Control
for food and nourishment then they leave
3. According to DEGREE of PARASITISM
INTRODUCTION TO PARASITOLOGY
- Obligate = needs a host at SOME STAGE of
● Parasitology is the study of parasites their life cycle to complete their development
● What are PARASITES? & to propagate their species (e.g. malaria)
- organisms that live on & obtain their nutrients ⤷ also your permanent parasite, if outside
from another organism host they will not develop/propagate
- dependency of one organism to another organism - Facultative = exists in a free-living state or
- Medical Parasitology = parasites of humans and may become parasitic when NEEDED (e.g.
their medical significance; & their importance to acanthamoeba = may develop freely in H2O)
communities INTRODUCTION TO PARASITOLOGY
● Biological Relationships
- Symbiosis = living together of unlike organisms ● 3 conditions/terms must be needed for parasitism to
1. Mutualism = everyone happy, both parties happen, bawal kulang isa:
benefit (e.g. termites & flagellates) ● RESERVOIR = main source of infection, where you can
2. Commensalism = one happy, other one find the organism when it is not infecting host
unaffected/unharmed (e.g. nonpathogenic - may be in a living or nonliving organism
amoeba = gives info on sanitary conditions of (human/animal/nonliving reservoir)
the host) ⤷ e.g. soil, water, etc.
3. Parasitism = one hurt, one happy (e.g. - Carrier = someone who has the organism but NO
pathogenic parasites) disease
⤷ one organism considered the parasite ● VECTOR = living organisms responsible for
lives in/on the other depending on the transmitting/transporting the infectious organism
latter for survival, usually at the expense (most of the time, arthropod)
of the host - MECHANICAL (passive) = fly’s hairy legs transport it
● Types of Parasites (dumikit para sa legs, bring sa spaghetti yummy)
1. According to HABITAT - BIOLOGICAL (actively) = parasite WITHIN the vector,
- Endoparasite = inside the body/host only after the larva has fully developed within host
(condition/result = infection) ⤷ mosquito transmits (e.g. malaria in the gut)
⤷ intracellular - inside the cell (e.g. malaria: ● HOST = organism which harbors the parasite &
RBC) provides nourishment and shelter (may be
⤷ intercellular - in between cells (e.g. lumens human/animal)
of cavities, in organs: fasciola hepatica) - always bigger than the parasite

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO PARASITOLOGY
TYPES OF HOST
1. Definitive (aka final/primary) Host = harbors the
adult/sexually MATURED parasite
2. Intermediate/Secondary Host = harbors LARVAL stages of
parasite = asexual stage/multiplication
- if there are 2 IH, 1st one is younger, 2nd is later
stage/form of the larval/asexual stage
3. Reservoir Host = serves as a SOURCE of infection to
other susceptible hosts but does not get the disease
- e.g. Balantidium coli in pigs (they’re reservoir hosts),
but if pigs live in unsanitary conditions = humans
around the pigs may acquire it
4. Paratenic/Storage Host = harbors SEXUALLY IMMATURE
parasite but it cannot develop further in this host
- they need definite host to continue their life cycle
5. Incidental/Accidental Host = shelters parasite but cannot
progress its life cycle development
- e.g. animal parasite in a human, vice versa
EXPOSURE & INFECTION (DISEASE TIMELINE)
1. Carrier = harbors a particular pathogen w/o manifesting
any signs & symptoms
- aka human reservoir
- asymptomatic not the same bc infected, just no
symptoms
2. Exposure = process of inoculating (i.e. implanting a
pathogen) an infective agent
- exposure ≠ infection
3. Infection = establishment of infective agent in host
4. Incubation Period = period between infection & evidence
of symptoms
- the 1st time you feel sick
5. Autoinfection = results when an infected individual
becomes his own direct source of infection
- e.g. seatworm (Enterobius vermicularis) = itchy butt
→ scratch → nails → nagkamay sa pagkain →
colon → repeat
6. Retroinfection = individual gets infected AGAIN from
having the parasite again
- parasite goes back to its original habitat
- seatworm eggs will hatch in colon & go back to
colon
PARASITIC LIFE CYCLE
1. Infective Stage = mode of transmission = a morphologic
form that invades the humans
- Protozoa: cysts → trophozoites
- Helminths: eggs → larva → adult
- stage na nakuha ng px when they got infected
(sinubo nails nung may cysts sa nails, yun ang
infective stage = cysts)
2. Diagnostic Stage = one (or more) forms that can be
detected via lab retrieval methods
- the stage of the parasite found in the sample
- e.g. E. histolytica trophozoites found in feces
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC MEASURES
1. Incidence = number of NEW CASES of infection
appearing in a population in a given period of time
- e.g. 40 students, at start of sem who has
parasitism = 10 students have parasitic infection
(that is the prevalence at time of examination)
- 30 uninfected will be taken care of, end of the sem,
5 are infected (that is the incidence)
2. Prevalence = individuals in a population ESTIMATED TO
BE INFECTED within a particular species (like parasites)
- current cases
3. Intensity of Infection = burden of infection (light/heavy?)
- classified by counting the number of worms
- not that used bc in public health, we treat
regardless of number of worms
● TRANSMISSION depends on…
- source of infection (human/nonhuman/inanimate)
⤷ fish, crab, spiders, snails, shrimps, etc.
⤷ contaminated soil/water
⤷ undercooked/raw food (they don’t die in
wasabi, vinegar, calamansi, etc.)
- Mode of Transmission
⤷ fecal-oral/orofecal route
⤷ skin penetration = barefoot (e.g. hookworm)
⤷ bite of a vector (e.g. arthropods)
⤷ mother-fetus/congenital/vertical
transmission
⤷ blood transfusion (which is why malaria is
usually screened before transfusion)
⤷ autoinfection
⤷ unprotected sexual activity
● DIAGNOSIS has 2 methods of approach:
1. Clinical Diagnosis = based on the signs &
symptoms
2. Laboratory Diagnosis = based on IDENTIFYING what
causes the disease/infection (e.g. parasites)
- Definitive = identifying the parasite itself
- Presumptive = based on the body’s antigens,
antibodies, humoral response (laboratory
antigen antibody techniques)
- Stool/fecal sample = most common sample
in the lab (micro/macroscopic examination)
● TREATMENT may be any of the ff:
1. Chemotherapeutic agents/drugs (e.g. deworming =
albendazole)
2. Surgical intervention
3. Adequate nutrition = more of a prevention =
improving general resistance/immunity
4. Selective treatment = you’re infected so you’re
treated
- only sick people are treated
5. Targeted treatment = those susceptible are treated
6. Universal treatment = (e.g. pandemic) everyone is
treated regardless of age, race, class, etc.
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● PREVENTION & CONTROL

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